life flashing before your eyes science journal

While this is the first such study in humans, scientists have previously observed similar changes in gamma oscillations in rats kept in controlled environments, indicating that, during death, the brain organises and executes a biological response that may be conserved across species. “Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” study co-author Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville in the US, said in a statement. “Given that cross-coupling between alpha and gamma activity is involved in cognitive processes and memory recall in healthy subjects, it is intriguing to speculate that such activity could support a last ‘recall of life’ that may take place in the near-death state,” researchers wrote in the study.

The findings revealed that as the person was dying, there was an increase in brain waves known as gamma oscillations that typically occur during dreaming and memory retrieval, as well as others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations.īrain waves are rhythmic electrical activity in normal living human brains, and different types of these waves are linked to different states.Ĭiting an example, researchers said gamma oscillations are linked to high-cognitive functions like concentrating, dreaming, meditation, memory retrieval and conscious perception, like those linked to memory flashbacks.Īnd studies have also shown that alpha waves, which oscillate in the frequency of 8-12 hertz, could play a role in filtering out distracting sensory information and helping pay attention.īased on the existing knowledge of the activities associated with different brain waves, scientists speculate the dying 87-year old person may have been making a “last recall of life.” Pretty fascinating, but unclear the applicability outside of older adults with acute subdural hematoma w/ decompressive craniotomy.Įnhanced Interplay of Neuronal Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain

Life flashing before your eyes science journal