Near-death experiencers (NDErs) report that the memory of their NDE is more vivid and lucid than ordinary memories. Two recent analyses of NDE memories showed that they have significantly more characteristics, like visual details, memory clarity, self-referential information (being involved in the event) and emotional content than both memories of real events and imagined events.

In addition, the EEG patterns in Near-death eperiencers differ significantly in several characteristics when the NDErs recall their NDE than non-NDErs when they recall real or imagined events. The hypothesis that the non-material mind separates from the physical body during an NDE is consistent with these findings. According to the hypothesis, when the mind is separated from the body, sensations are experienced directly rather than through the physical senses and the memories are recorded directly in the mind rather than through the hippocampus.

The recall of NDE memories would then use different pathways and electrical patterns than ordinary recall of episodic memories. Indeed, we hypothesize that the recall of Near death experience memories involves an altered state of consciousness which is more like a re-living of the experience than simply recalling a series of events. The evidence from near-death experiences supports the idea that memories in general are stored in the non-material mind rather than as pattern encodings in neural structures. Ordinary episodic memories are recorded in the mind through pathways in the hippocampus and are recalled again from the mind through reverse hippocampal pathways that reactivate the same sensory and mental neural components, but at a lower intensity.
Source: 2016 IANDS Conference

More about Robert and Suzanne Mays’ research: http://selfconsciousmind.com

For more information on near-death experiences, visit http://iands.org