Editing Stanislav Grof (section)

===Hypothesis on near-death experiences===
In the late 1970s Grof proposed a psychological hypothesis to explain the [[near-death experience]] (NDE). According to Grof the NDE reflects memories of the birth process with the tunnel representing the [[birth canal]]. [[Susan Blackmore]] wrote that the hypothesis is "pitifully inadequate to explain the NDE. For a start the newborn infant would not see anything like a tunnel as it was being born."{{sfn|Blackmore|1991}} The psychologist [[Chris French]] has written "the experience of being born is only very superficially similar to the NDE" and the hypothesis has been refuted as it is common for those born by [[caesarean section]] to experience a tunnel during the NDE.{{sfn|French|2005}} [[Michael Shermer]] also criticized the hypothesis "there is no evidence for infantile memories of any kind. Furthermore, the birth canal does not look like a tunnel and besides the infant's head is normally down and its eyes are closed."{{sfn|Shermer|1997|p=80}} An article in the peer-reviewed APA journal ''Psychology of Consciousness'' suggested that Grof's patients may have experienced [[False memory|false memories]] of birth and before birth.{{sfn|Patihis|Younes Burton|2015}}