First-ever recording of a dying human brain reveals what happens right before death

What happens to the encephalon arsenic radical modulation from live to dormant has puzzled scientists for centuries - until now.

A squad of neuroscientists person captured the first-ever encephalon enactment of a dying quality brain, which suggests radical spell acquisition 'life review.' 

Life reviews person been wide reported by those who person had near-death experiences who said they saw their full beingness past play retired successful a accelerated manifestation of autobiographical memory.

Many picture this arsenic the acquisition of seeing their beingness 'flash earlier their eyes.' 

The signaling was made erstwhile an 87-year-old diligent underwent cardiac arrest while being treated for epilepsy.

Doctors had strapped a instrumentality connected his caput to show encephalon activity, but the antheral died during the process. 

However, the neuroscientists captured 900 seconds of encephalon enactment astir the clip of death, allowing them to spot what happened successful the 30 seconds earlier and aft his bosom stopped beating.

The measurements of encephalon waves earlier and aft showed areas progressive with memories and retrieval were inactive active.

Dr Ajmal Zemmar of the University of Louisville, Kentucky said: 'Through generating encephalon oscillations [brain waves] progressive successful representation retrieval, the encephalon whitethorn beryllium playing a past callback of important beingness events conscionable earlier we die, akin to the ones reported successful near-death experiences.

'These findings situation our knowing of erstwhile precisely beingness ends and make important consequent questions, specified arsenic those related to the timing of organ donation.' 

Dr Zemmar and his colleagues published their information successful the diary Frontiers successful Aging Neuroscience in 2022.

The Canadian diligent was being treated for epilepsy, prompting doctors to spot an electroencephalography (EEG) to survey encephalon waves related to seizure activity.

This instrumentality attaches to the scalp via electrodes that observe and amplify encephalon waves, with the neurological enactment showing up arsenic wavy lines connected what's known arsenic an EEG recording. 

Later on, the diligent went into cardiac arrest and died portion the EEG was inactive monitoring his brain, providing the archetypal grounds of what happens successful the encephalon moments earlier death.

'Just earlier and aft the bosom stopped working, we saw changes successful a circumstantial set of neural oscillations, alleged gamma oscillations, but besides successful others specified arsenic delta, theta, alpha and beta oscillations,' Dr Zemmar said successful a statement. 

Brain oscillations, oregon encephalon waves, are repetitive patterns of electrical impulses usually contiguous successful surviving quality brains.

Different types of encephalon waves bespeak antithetic encephalon functions and states of consciousness. 

Gamma waves are progressive in high-cognitive functions specified arsenic representation retrieval, which is associated with representation flashbacks. 

'Through generating encephalon oscillations progressive successful representation retrieval, the encephalon whitethorn beryllium playing a past callback of important beingness events conscionable earlier we die, akin to the ones reported successful near-death experiences,' Zemmar said.  

Researchers suggested that the encephalon could beryllium biologically programmed to negociate the modulation into death, potentially orchestrating a bid of physiological and neurological events alternatively than simply shutting disconnected instantly.

'On the metaphysical side, if you person these things, it is intriguing to speculate to accidental that these mechanisms – these encephalon enactment patterns that hap erstwhile we person representation callback and dreaming and meditative states – they callback conscionable earlier we spell to die,' said Zemmar.

'So possibly they're letting america person a replay of beingness successful the past seconds erstwhile we die.

 'On the spiritual side, I deliberation it is somewhat calming. I look this astatine times erstwhile you person patients that walk distant and you speech their families; you person to beryllium the bearer of atrocious news. 

'Right now, we don't cognize thing astir what happens to their loved one's encephalon erstwhile they're dying. 

'I deliberation if we cognize that determination is thing happening successful their brain, that they are remembering bully moments, we tin archer these families and it builds a feeling of warmth that successful that infinitesimal erstwhile they are falling, this tin assistance a small spot to drawback them.'

Scientists inactive aren't definite precisely however and wherefore the beingness reappraisal improvement happens, but they bash person immoderate theories. 

One suggests that oxygen deprivation during a life-threatening lawsuit tin trigger the merchandise of neurotransmitters, oregon chemic messengers that transmit signals betwixt neurons.

This causes neurons to occurrence rapidly, and this heightened enactment whitethorn pb to the cognition of vivid memories and images. 

Another imaginable mentation is based connected wherever memories are stored successful the brain. 

Scientists judge immoderate highly affectional memories are stored successful the amygdala, which is the aforesaid portion of the encephalon that is liable for the combat oregon formation response.

The activation of this encephalon portion during a life-threatening acquisition whitethorn truthful merchandise these vivid memories, causing them to flash earlier your eyes. 

While Zemmar's uncovering does not straight constituent to 1 of these explanations oregon another, it does connection grounds to suggest that the beingness reappraisal improvement is real.

What's more, 'These findings situation our knowing of erstwhile precisely beingness ends and make important consequent questions, specified arsenic those related to the timing of organ donation,' Zemmar said. 

'When bash you spell up with organ donation? When are we dead? ... Should we grounds EEG enactment successful summation to EKG to state death? 

'This is simply a very, precise absorbing question for me. When is precisely the clip erstwhile we die? We whitethorn person tapped the doorway unfastened present to commencement a treatment astir that nonstop clip onset.' 

But much lawsuit studies will beryllium needed successful bid to statesman answering these questions. 

'Scientifically, it's precise hard to construe the information due to the fact that the encephalon had suffered bleeding, seizures, swelling – and past it's conscionable 1 case. So we can't marque precise large assumptions and claims based connected this case,' Zemmar said.