Death is inevitable for everyone and, therefore, it is entirely human to wonder what a person experiences the moment their heart stops beating.
Does a bright light appear? Do we see our loved ones who have passed away? Or are we faced with everything we wish we had done differently? Is it a peaceful or frightening experience?
There has long been the idea that “life flashes before your eyes” in the final moments — a phenomenon known as life recollection. Many people who have been near death report experiencing this sensation. And now, science suggests that there may be a biological basis for it.
Neuroscientists have for the first time managed to record the brain activity of a person at the moment of death. What they found was that the brain waves at those moments resemble those that occur during dreaming, memory recall and meditation.
To many, this sounds strangely soothing.
What is "life recall"?
The study, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience in 2023, suggests that the brain may remain active and coordinated during and even shortly after the transition to death, responding to this process with a kind of "programmed shutdown."
The discovery came by chance. An 87-year-old patient, who suffered from epilepsy, was being monitored with an EEG (electroencephalogram) to identify seizures. While recording brain activity, the patient suffered a heart attack and died — becoming the first case where brain activity at the moment of death was recorded directly.
Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville in the US and head of the study, explained that the 30 seconds before and after cardiac arrest were analyzed, where clear neurological changes were observed.
According to him, changes were identified in so-called gamma oscillations, but also in other waves such as delta, theta, alpha and beta — that is, different types of brain waves.
Gamma, theta, alpha, and beta waves are associated with dreaming, memory, and information processing, processes that coincide with recalling life experiences. While delta waves typically appear during deep sleep and certain states of consciousness.
Dr. Zemmar speculates that:
"The brain may be playing out a recent recollection of life's most significant events, similar to those reported in near-death experiences."
He also points out that these findings challenge how we understand the end of life, raising important ethical and medical questions, including the timing of organ donation.
It should be noted that the study is based on a single case, and the patient had previous neurological problems. However, according to Dr. Zemmar, this knowledge may be comforting to those who have lost or are losing loved ones.
"Even though our loved ones have their eyes closed and seem to be leaving us, it's possible that their brains are recalling some of the most beautiful moments of their lives," he says.
"Visioning" during the dying process
Visual experiences don't just happen at the final moment. Many people report so-called visions as part of the dying process.
This is one of six phenomena described by hospice nurse Julie McFadden, 41, who works in palliative care in Los Angeles.
According to her, visioning is not related to pathological hallucinations or mental illness.
“It happens to many people, it is almost always sedating, and the person is usually aware and oriented,” she explains.
McFadden points out that these experiences are often misinterpreted as the effect of drugs or lack of oxygen, but in most cases this is not true.
Usually, the vision occurs a few weeks before death. The person can speak normally with family members, while at the same time saying that they are seeing a deceased parent, who smiles at them and tells them that he will come to get them soon, reassuring them.
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According to the nurse, family members should simply accept and follow the experience, without opposing it.
"Lying Towards Death"
Sometimes, visioning is accompanied by what is called "reaching out to die."
This happens when the person, lying in bed, extends their arms upwards, as if trying to touch or hug someone who is not physically there.
This phenomenon can also last for a long time and, although its cause is not fully understood, is considered normal in the final stages of life.
Although science doesn't yet have complete answers, one thing is clear: our brains continue to function in complex and mysterious ways even in our final moments. Studies like this don't provide absolute certainty, but they do offer a small window into what we might experience — and for many people, that idea is more reassuring than frightening. /GazetaExpress/
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