Researchers have long wondered about the state of mind when a person is nearing death. As a result, many studies have been conducted upon persons with the near-death syndrome in general terms. People who have experienced near-death syndrome talk about varying experiences, ranging from a complete flashback of life experiences to a feeling of passing through a tunnel with light at the other end of the tunnel. However, the most common experience described is a complete flashback of one’s life experiences.
For the first time, researchers have obtained a complete and continuous EEG scan of a dying person. Analyzing the brain wave patterns, researchers have concluded that the person at the final moments of life experiences a flashback of memories.
Life Flashes Before Your Eyes!
A new study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience suggests that the brain is active and coordinated even after the transition to death. Furthermore, the research indicates that the brain arranges a flashback of your whole life or a life recall much akin to the adage-LIFE FLASHES BEFORE YOUR EYES!
The fact was revealed when a continuous EEG was taken of an 87-year-old person who suffered a head injury and was sinking. It was the first continuous brain scan of a dying person. Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville who organized the study, told BBC.
“Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations.”
Brainwaves are electrical impulses in the brain that occur when a person’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts are communicated between neurons within our brains. They are differentiated as delta, alpha, beta, and gamma waves. Different waves occur in various states of mind, for example
- Delta brainwaves happen when we are asleep,
- Theta brainwaves are associated with mental inefficiency or the twilight zone between waking and sleep.
- Alpha brainwaves are associated with a state of relaxation
- Beta brainwaves are associated with a form of mental, intellectual activity
