Science Proves Popular Theory About Death, Brain Scans Prove Life Flashes Before Our Eyes
Death is an experience that humans may feel intrigued by, but can never truly understand without actually experiencing it. In a surprising turn of events, researchers have supposedly found out what exactly a human feels when life is moving out of their grasp, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Findings regarding this observation have been published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
In this study, researchers managed to capture the brain waves of a dying man. These waves reflected that the man's entire life flashed before his eyes as he was saying goodbye to the world. The team further claimed that these flashes of memories happened both before and after the man's heart stopped.
The patient in question was an 87-year-old man, according to The Guardian. Researchers did not put him into the electroencephalography (EEG) machine for the sake of the study. The man was admitted to the hospital as a patient after suffering a fall. This fall reportedly caused a brain bleed, which required further observation. The doctors diagnosed the patient with epilepsy and put him into the EEG machine to check on this ailment.
During EEG recording, the patient suddenly had a heart attack. He died inside the machine. The machine observed the individual's brain activity 30 seconds before and after the man's death. Researchers noticed changes in that man's alpha and gamma brain waves, along with several other brain waves. Experts found that different brain waves continued to interact even after blood stopped flowing into the brain.
The study claims that the wave pattern observed in that individual suggests that memories were coming up in front of the person's eyes. This assertion was rooted in past observations, which implied that cross-coupling between alpha and gamma activity happens when an individual is recollecting instances that have happened in their life. Considering that the cross-coupling was noticed in the 87-year-old man's brain activities, it could mean that the person was recalling his life.
This theory of 'life recall' is very popular, and therefore, proof of it in an individual's brain waves is extremely significant. However, researchers are still not sure whether this phenomenon should be considered a general belief. The team doesn't want to confirm that every dying person goes through this 'recall.' They believe more subjects need to be tested to conclude anything. However, such a pursuit is not easy. Moreover, the individual in whom this activity was observed may have had his brain waves impacted by traumatic injury and white matter damage. The man was also taking anticonvulsant medication, which could have also skewed the results.
The study also raises major questions on when exactly a person should be considered dead, stated BBC. Researchers noted brain activity even after the man's heart stopped pumping, which could mean that the man still had 'life' in him. The death happened in 2016, but was reported six years later because the researchers were waiting for more such analysis. However, nothing of this sort ever took place. The findings, though, do align with the findings of a similar examination conducted on a rat in 2013. Here also, there was a high level of brain activity indicating a memory recall.