I'm a little troubled that it took the good doctor 4 years to go public with his story, a period during which he surely would have worked extensively on the ultimate public presentation. Esquire has a piece in their recent issue which also casts some serious doubt on the story.
That being said, there is too much in the literature to dismiss this subject out of hand. NDE's are have been detailed across religious, cultural, socioeconomic spectrums. The Alexander case offers a rather typical description, quite frankly, notwithstanding the fact that he's a neurosurgeon. The most striking thing (to me at least) is the transformative effect it often seems to have on these individuals.
Some view these experiences as proof that consciousness exists outside brain activity (count Dr. Alexander in this group).
Others view them as proof of an afterlife.
Still others view them as a form of lucid dreaming.
Lakhmir Chawla noted that a surge of electrical activity typically occurs in a dying brain after a period of decreasing activity.
Personally, I'm waiting for a peer-reviewed study in a reputable journal, which focuses on physiological events surrounding such experiences.
