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For the first time, human brain activity in the final seconds before death has been recorded, showing a ‘rhythmic activity’ similar to that seen while we are dreaming.

The finding has finally given some credence to accounts of near-death experiences, in which life flashes before your eyes, in a phenomenon dubbed by researchers as “life recall.”

The discovery was made by Dr Raul Vicente while treating an 87-year-old man with epilepsy at the University of Tartu in Estonia. The patient was at the time being regularly monitored with electroencephalography (EEG) – which allowed doctors to detect and manage seizures as they occurred.

Sadly, the man’s health deteriorated, and he later died of a heart attack while the EEG was still being recorded. Fortunately for science, and for the first time, doctors had a record of human brain activity before and after death.

The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, detailing the remarkable discovery.

“We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and set a specific focus to investigate what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” said neurosurgeon and study lead Dr Ajmal Zemmar of the University of Louisville.

The recordings indicated that there were alterations in brain waves before and after the heart stopped beating, including specific types of waves associated with greater cognitive function. It appeared that the kind of waves that occur while dreaming, retrieving memories, and processing information were activated during the brain’s final moments.

“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,” suggests Zemmar.

What is particularly curious to the researchers is that activity continued even after the heart had stopped beating. This leads to all kinds of new questions about life, death, and the afterlife.

“These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”

The study itself is not considered absolute proof as the patient did die after ‘brain function irregularities due to epilepsy’, which means it could be an isolated and unique incident. The research team however believe that it could be a biological response by the brain as it shuts down, something we share with several other species.

Despite the limitations of the study, Dr Zemmar believes it might bring some comfort to people saying goodbye to loved ones.

“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.”

Taking stock of your life in the final moments before death doesn’t seem such an unreal idea, and even features in most religions. It’s the final look back at the path you walked before you turn your back on the living world and go… somewhere.

[source:ifls]