From April 8 to 11, at Casa do Médico in Porto, the Bial Foundation will host the 15th “Behind and Beyond the Brain” Symposium, dedicated to the theme “End‑of‑Life Experiences.”

Universal and inevitable, death remains one of the most challenging and enigmatic phenomena of the human condition. Is death a moment or a process? What happens in the brain as life comes to an end? What do people who have undergone near‑death experiences report? And how do different cultures interpret and prepare for this moment? These are some of the questions at the heart of a debate that brings together science, philosophy, and culture.

To address these questions, the Bial Foundation brings together some of the most distinguished international researchers in neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue on what is currently known scientifically about end‑of‑life processes, as well as their implications for how we understand reality.

“What is new about this symposium is probably the fact that its topic is so challenging and so fascinating that it may have been neglected for far too long”, says Axel Cleeremans, President of the Organising Committee.

Highlights of the 15th “Behind and Beyond the Brain” Symposium

Opening | April 8 | 6:30 pm
The symposium opens with a keynote lecture by neuroscientist Christof Koch (Seattle, USA), who will introduce the main scientific and philosophical issues related to end‑of‑life experiences.

First Session | April 9 | 9:00 am
Dedicated to “End‑of‑life processes” and chaired by Helané Wahbeh (Novato, USA), this session explores the many processes that take place as death nears. Michael Rera (Paris, France) will address the biology of the dying process; Daniel Kondziella (Copenhagen, Denmark) will reflect on the evolutionary origins of near‑death experiences; and Marjorie Woollacott (Eugene, USA) will focus on terminal lucidity. The session concludes with a lecture by Michael Nahm (Freiburg, Germany), who will present a synthesis of unusual phenomena associated with the end-of-life experiences.

Second Session |April 10 | 9:00 am
Under the theme “End-of-life moments” and chaired by Etzel Cardeña (Lund, Sweden), this session will be devoted to near‑death experiences. Janice Holden (Denton, USA) will analyse reports of anomalous experiences; Charlotte Martial (Liège, Belgium) will present a neuroscientific perspective on the phenomenon; and Bárbara Gomes (Coimbra, Portugal) will reflect on what matters most to people in their final moments. The lecture by Jim Tucker (Charlottesville, USA) will address reports of past‑life memories in children, raising questions about their interpretation.

Third Session | April 11| 9:00 am
The final session, dedicated to “End‑of‑life beliefs and impacts” and chaired by Veena Kumari (London, UK), examines how different cultures and contexts experience death. Mira Menzfeld (Zurich, Switzerland) will present an ethnographic approach; Allan Kellehear (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) will explore the experience of death from an anthropological perspective; and Marieta Pehlivanova (Charlottesville, USA) will address the impact of near‑death experiences. The session concludes with a lecture by Fanny Charrasse (Brussels, Belgium), focused on the shamanic and psychological interpretations associated with ayahuasca rituals.

Oral presentations
On the afternoon of April 9, researchers supported by the Bial Foundation will present their work in a blitz oral session moderated by Mário Simões (Lisbon, Portugal), offering an overview of current research underway in the field of mind and consciousness.

Workshops
The afternoon of April 10 will feature four participatory workshops. In Workshop 1, Rainer Goebel (Maastricht, Netherlands) and Stefan Schmidt (Freiburg, Germany) will engage in dialogue with guest Yesche Regel (Bonn, Germany) on how the Buddhist tradition conceptualises death. Workshop 2, moderated by Chris Roe (Northampton, UK), will include Etzel Cardeña and Marieta Pehlivanova in an in‑depth exploration of near‑death experiences. Workshop 3, led by Rui Costa (Seattle, USA) with the participation of Julia Verne and Maggie Doherty (London, UK), will focus on the personal and social dimensions of palliative care. Workshop 4, moderated by Miguel Castelo‑Branco (Coimbra, Portugal), will feature Bárbara Gomes leading an intimate and interactive session in which participants are invited to share what they value most at the end of life.

Final roundtable
The symposium concludes on the afternoon of April 11 with a roundtable moderated by Axel Cleeremans (Brussels, Belgium), bringing together several invited speakers for a final moment of synthesis and dialogue with the audience.