Does the arousal system contribute to near-death experience?

The letter to the editor critiques the research by Kevin Nelson and colleagues purporting to show a link between “REM intrusion” and NDEs.  The Nelson study used an atypical sample of NDErs, an inappropriate comparison group, and different procedures for eliciting “REM intrusion” symptoms from the two groups that likely biased the results; and the authors drew conclusions not supported by their data and ignored data contradicting their conclusions.