The brain is a mystery and for centuries it has been investigated if it really shows all the memories of a life before dying. Thanks to a scientific study by Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, it is now possible to know that a person does see their life pass before their eyes before they die.
A team of neuroscientists accidentally recorded brain signals from a dying brain while using electroencephalography (EEG) to detect and treat seizures in an 87-year-old man. The patient went into cardiac arrest and his brain activity was recorded. This is the first time scientists have recorded the activity of a dying human brain .
“EEG at the time of death. Quite fascinating, but the applicability outside older adults with acute subdural hematoma with decompressive craniotomy is unclear. Enhanced Interaction of Neural Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain”.
Jeff Browndyke, neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist
What really happens to the brain when we die?
The most recent scientific study seems to confirm the memory of life theory, which explains that the person sees his life pass before his eyes at the moment before death. Indeed, memories would flash through the minds of dying human beings.
Scientists monitored 900 seconds during and after death, finding that a person’s brain can remain active and coordinating actions even after death, explained Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, United States, and leader of the project. .
“This challenges our understanding of when exactly life ends and raises important later questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”
Ajmal Zemmar
Truth or myth? The human sees his life pass before his eyes before he dies
According to the scientists in charge of this project, the rhythmic brain activity before death is comparable to that observed during dreams. In this way, brain waves change before and after the heart stops beating, evoking memories and processing information.
“Through the generation of oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing back a last memory of important life events just before death, similar to those reported in near-death experiences.”
Ajmal Zemmar
The expert from the University of Louisville assured that it is still not possible to be more certain about the results obtained; however, he allowed himself to speculate that the mind might display the pleasant memories first, and the bad things later.
It is not yet a scientific fact that the brain emits flashbacks before dying
Changes in gamma waves in rats had previously been studied ; however, this is the first time such brain activity has been identified in humans. In this sense, the brain organizes and executes a biological response that could be conserved in all species.
As Jeff Browndyke warned, the results are not definitive, since they come from the case of a patient whose brain suffered an injury, in addition to the fact that his brain activity was altered by the epilepsy he suffered. The good news is that there are already signs to start investigating in depth.
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