It has often been said that at the point of death one can “relive” many of the episodes that have characterized one’s life: a more concrete answer is now also provided by science with an important study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience who went to find out what happens to the brain and to memory in the last moments of life trying to decipher neurophysiology, that branch of biology (especially human physiology) which deals with understanding the functioning of neurons and neural networks.
The results of the study
Well, on a patient of 87 years old suffering from epilepsy, some researchers, using continuous electroencephalography to detect seizures and treat the patient, have recorded aintense brain activity shortly before the man had a fatal heart attack which was the cause of his death. The completely unexpected event allowed scientists to record the activity of a dying human brain for the first time ever. “We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and focused specifically on what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating.”said Prof. Ajmal Zemmara neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville and first author of the study.
The importance of brain oscillations
In practice, what happened inside the brain was recorded for 15 minutes with astonishing results. “Immediately before and after the heart stopped working, we observed changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, the so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha and beta oscillations,” says Zemmar. Brain waves (also known as brain oscillations) are the signals of “rhythmic” (continuous) activity in the brains of living human beings. In this specific case, the gamma oscillations they are involved in the most specific cognitive activities such as concentration, dreaming, meditation, memory recovery, information processing and conscious perception.
In the case of the patient who later died, memory “flashbacks” were recorded. “By generating brain oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain could reproduce a last memory of important life events just before dying, similar to those reported in near-death experiences“, speculated Zemmar.
New evidence on death
Even if one case is too small to extend to everyone, in similar situations, what happened to the patient with epilepsy at the point of death, the new evidence has made us understand what can really happen in those moments. “And you ask yourself, what does the brain do? As a PhD in neuroscience and a neurosurgeon, you think about these things”. Even if we are talking about science, the researcher himself explained that we can talk about this aspect not only from a scientific point of view but also from a metaphysical and spiritual point of view. Especially the last two points are important to understand that hypothesizing certain mechanisms, i.e. of brain activity before dying, perhaps allow us to “rewind the tape” of our existence in the moments in which we are about to separate from earthly life.
And then, on a spiritual level, it can also be a comfort for loved ones before the passing of those we love. “At the moment we know nothing about what happens to the brain of the loved one when they are dying but if we know that something is happening in their brain, that they are remembering good times, we can tell these families and create a feeling of comfort“, concluded Zemmar.