Another possible explanation given for the occurrence of NDE is that it may occur as a consequence of a seizure in the brain. During a seizure there is an abnormal area of electrical activity in a specific section of the brain. As this abnormal area of electrical activity occurs in specific groups of brain cells (neurones), this leads to certain changes in the body too, such as abnormal movements in the arms or legs or even specific changes with smell, hearing or vision. The exact nature of the change ultimately depends on the specific section of the brain that has become overactive. So, depending on which area of the brain becomes overactive, a patient may experience certain symptoms related to the function of that specific area.

There are different types of epilepsy depending on which part of the brain has developed the abnormal electricity. There is a particular type of epilepsy called temporal lobe epilepsy, which as its name suggests is a condition in which there is an abnormality in the electrical activity seen in the temporal lobes that lie somewhat on the sides of the brain. They have a very complex function and amongst other things are responsible for memory. They also have connections with the visual areas of the brain and therefore abnormal activity in this area may lead to what are called complex visual hallucinations. If the abnormal electricity is only in the visual areas this typically leads to flashes of light only but if it is also in the temporal areas too, it may lead to complex hallucinations.

Temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with a number of specific features, which include having a distorted perception of events, and having complex hallucinations in which things may be seen or heard. The commonest cause of this particular type of epilepsy is due to an abnormality that occurs before birth which may be worsened if a child has a very high temperature that may lead to a prolonged childhood seizure. This type of epilepsy is associated with deju vu experiences, an experience in which people have a very strong and profound feeling of having experienced something before it has occurred. There can also be abnormal auras starting in the stomach which rise up the chest and lead to panic attacks. If the seizure is prolonged the person can lose consciousness. There have also been descriptions of experiencing being in a state of unreality and sometimes, performing uncontrollable repetitive movements which may occur in any part of the body. These are typically automatic and are therefore called automatisms. So, someone with temporal lobe epilepsy may chew uncontrollably, continuously grimace, and even in some cases automatically undress without being aware of what they are doing. Sometimes the automatisms may be very complex indeed and even appear almost like a normal activity such as walking for many miles. However the point about this type of event is that the person invariably loses memory for what they were doing (if it was done during the seizure).

The fact that some people with over activity in these areas of the brain have described certain types of hallucinations which appear to share some of the features of a NDE as outlined above, has led some researchers to propose that NDEs may therefore also be a consequence of abnormal function in this area of the brain.

If NDEs occurred as a consequence of over activity in the temporal and limbic areas of the brain, due to for example a lack of oxygen, one would also expect to see some of the other features of over activity of the temporal and limbic areas such as loss of memory, automatisms, and déjà vu experiences as outlined above. Such features do not occur in association with NDEs and when the scientific studies in which over activity of these areas of the brain have been carefully studied are examined, NDE like features have not been commonly described.