Mankind has long been curious to know the secret of the final moments of life. Does a person feel some divine presence or does his whole lifetime flash before his eyes in that one moment? This question has puzzled many. But now, a new research could give us the answers.
Scientists have caught on screen, for the first time, the last moments of a person’s life. This research tells us what the last thoughts would be before dying. While the actual answer remains hidden, this study provides interesting information that hints at what might happen in our brains as we approach death.
Researchers in Vancouver, Canada, were monitoring the activity of an 87-year-old epilepsy patient’s brain when the man died suddenly of a heart attack. Studying data recorded by an electroencephalogram, they tracked what occurred in his brain in the 30 seconds before and after his heart stopped beating. The results suggested that the commonly held belief that one’s life “flashes before their eyes” might be more than just a saying.
This proposal came from an observed increase in “gamma oscillations,” which are brainwaves related to memory recall and dreaming. These oscillations could signal that the patient was reliving past memories in his last minutes.
Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, lead author of the study published in ‘Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience’, explained, “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.”
Dr. Zemmar also suggested that these observations could change our understanding of when exactly life ends, and had also led to important questions about the timing of organ donation. The study also revealed similar brainwave patterns in rats at the time of death, but this is the first time such findings have been noted in humans.
The researchers however call for further research since their study might not allow concrete conclusions to be made. Their data only represents a case of one, and it came from the brain that was affected with epilepsy so the outcome cannot tell if other patients dying will result in similar patterns. Nevertheless, information acquired through this research is rich and reveals doors that lead to knowing more about what happens during life’s last breaths.
Dr. Zemmar added, “Something we may learn from this research is: although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives.” This thought is assuring to reflect that, during our last times, the brain might be presenting a replay of cherished memories.
