Funded by: The Bial Foundation

Date: November 2023-November 2025

Amount Awarded: 56,000 Euros

Project Team: Associate Professor Natasha Tassell-Matamua, Professor Marjorie Woollacott, Professor Allan Kellehear, Dr Michael Nahm, Dr Philip Roehrs, Ms Karalee Kothe, Ms Sara Gunnoe

Unusually enhanced mental clarity characterised by spontaneous and often animated changes in verbal and/or non-verbal behaviour, have been reported for more than 250 years. Occurring exclusively in the last minutes, hours, or days before a person’s death, these unusual phenomena have come to be termed Terminal Lucidity (TL). Despite being reported for more than two centuries, TL remains little understood. Although it is often reported in those of older age who have dementia, TL is also very common in children who are terminally ill.

More research is needed to better understand TL in children, as this will provide important details regarding the end-of-life stage of children who are terminally unwell, what their and their parents/caregivers needs might be around this time, and how medical personnel can respond in appropriate ways to meet those needs.

This study aims to address the need for more information about TL in children and will be the first study of its kind in the world to do so.

Please visit the project website to find out more about the study, as well as more about Terminal Lucidity. You can also find a link to complete the online survey here and on the project website.

Project Outputs:

Journal Articles

Roehrs, P., Fenwick, P., Greyson, B., Kellehear, A., Kothe, K., Nahm, M., Roe, C., Tassell-Matamua, N., & Woollacott, M. (2023). Terminal lucidity in a pediatric oncology clinic. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001711

Presentations

Woollacott, M., Greyson, B., Kothe, K., & Tassell-Matamua, N. (2023, September 1). Terminal lucidity in children. Symposium presented at the International Association for Near-Death Studies annual conference. Washington DC, USA.