Research on Experiences Related to the Possibility of Consciousness Beyond the Brain A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Scientific Output Jorge Cecílio Daher, Jr, MD,*† Rodolfo Furlan Damiano,‡ Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti, MD, MSc,* Alexander Moreira-Almeida, MD, PhD,* and Giancarlo Lucchetti, MD, PhD* Abstract: This study aims to conduct a search of publications investigating ex- periences commonly associated with the possibility of the existence of a con- sciousness independent of the brain held on the main scientific databases (Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Scopus). Of the 9065 articles retrieved, 1954 were included (598 near-death experiences, 223 out-of-body experiences, 56 end-of-life experiences, 224 possession, 244 memo- ries suggestive of past lives, 565 mediumship, 44 others). Over the decades, there was an evident increase in the number of articles on all the areas of the field, with the exception of studies on mediumship that showed a decline during the late 20th century and subsequent rise in the early 21st century. Regarding the types of ar- ticles found, with the exception of past-life memories and end-of-life experiences (mostly original studies), publications were predominantly review articles. The articles were published in journals with an impact factor similar to other areas of science. Key Words: Mind-brain relationship, near-death experiences, end-of-life experiences, out-of-body experiences, bibliometrics (J Nerv Ment Dis 2017;205: 37–47) T he possibility of autonomy of consciousness in relation to the brain as a cultural element of humanity has pervaded throughout history. The numerous religious and philosophical traditions have for thou- sands of years questioned whether human beings constitute merely a physical body (philosophical materialism) or have a mind/soul/ spirit/consciousness that transcends the physical body and can survive death (philosophical spiritualism) (Araujo, 2013). Transcendental and spiritual reports along with experiences involving altered states of con- sciousness have implications for comprehension of the mind-brain rela- tionship (Moreira-Almeida, 2013), and since the mid-19th century, researchers have sought to carry out systematic scientific investigations on the potential empirical evidence of autonomy of the consciousness in relation to the brain (Alvarado, 2003; Alvarado, 2013; Hyslop, 1898; Sommer, 2014). Ian Stevenson, one of the first researchers on the subject of auton- omy of consciousness, and consequently survival after death, proposed three different historical periods in these scientific investigations: the first (1880–1930) marked the period predominated by the collection and analysis of alleged spontaneous manifestations of deceased persons; the second (1930–1960) was characterized by studies on parapsychol- ogy, where the main focus centered on studies of extrasensory manifes- tations whose agent was a living person; while the third (1960 forth) was characterized by the return from experiences that may provide evidence for survival after death (Stevenson, 1977b). However, this subject has also been surrounded by controversy in the academic milieu (Cardeña, 2014; Moreira-Almeida and Santos, 2012). Materialists, on the one hand, hold that the mind is a material or physical process and the product of brain activity, whereas nonmaterialists believe that the mind is a separate entity from the brain and can exist out- side it (Almeder, 1992; Martens, 1994; Mobbs and Watt, 2011; Moreira- Almeida and Araujo, 2015; Saavedra-Aguilar and Gómez-Jeria, 1989; Stevenson, 1977b; Stevenson and Greyson, 1979). In this context, there has been a rise in the number of related pub- lications investigating this issue (such as in the area of near-death experi- ences) (Sleutjes et al., 2014), associated with growing interest from the public at large (Markovsky and Thye, 2001; Moore, 2005). The experi- ences investigated in studies on the possible independence or survival of the consciousness in relation to the brain typically include near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, mediumship/possession, end- of-life experiences/deathbed phenomenon, and memories suggestive of past lives (Lester, 2005; Moreira-Almeida, 2013). However, there is currently a dearth of information on the profile of the academic pub- lications available on these experiences. Determining the type of articles, key topics, methodological de- signs, main authors, countries, and journals associated with these stud- ies is of great importance to establish the state of the art in the field and identify possible methodological gaps and limitations, helping to map future directions for this field of research. We found no studies in the literature mapping the main articles on the topic available on the main scientific databases and providing a clear picture of this field. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to conduct a bibliometric search of publications investigating experiences commonly associated with the possibility of the existence of auton- omy of the consciousness in relation to the brain held on the main scientific databases. METHODS Study Type For the purposes of the present study, bibliometry was defined as “the quantitative analysis of the bibliographic features of a body of lit- erature” (Hawkins, 1977) and was based on the use of bibliographic data derived from articles under analysis (authors, titles, year, type of ar- ticles, key words, among others) (Carrizo-Sainero, 2000) and on the in- fluence of publications (according to specific measures, such as impact factor) (Pinto and Andrade, 1999), to allow the mapping of the literature output in a given field and determine the structure of a field of study (Estabrooks et al., 2004), thereby elucidating the relevance of a subject in science (Similowski and Derenne, 1995). Search Strategy The general search terms were defined by the authors based on a previous review about the main subitems of the area and by consulting fellow researchers in an effort to identify the majority of the relevant studies on the topic published in the scientific literature. Thus, the *Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora; †Department of Research, AME-Brasil, São Paulo; and ‡Pontifícia Universidade Católica–São Paulo, Sorocaba, Brazil. Send reprint requests to Jorge Cecílio Daher, Jr, MD, JC Endocrinologia, Rua Coronel Batista 83, room 5 – Anápolis - GO 75110-270, Brazil. E‐mail: endocrinologista@gmail.com. Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0022-3018/17/20501–0037 DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000625 ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease • Volume 205, Number 1, January 2017 www.jonmd.com 37 Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.