For the first time, doctors have studied the brain activity of a person during the final moments of their life. The findings were taken from a patient who was in the hospital and died suddenly while his brain was being monitored for seizures. According to the doctors, these findings may offer some support for the idea that our lives flash before our eyes before we die.
See also: Third person cured of HIV with stem cell transplant
The study was published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. According to the report, the patient was an 87-year-old man who had been hospitalized after a serious fall that caused bleeding in his brain. After surgery, the man's condition stabilized for two days before he began having seizures. He then underwent an electroencephalogram (EEG), which records the electrical activity of the brain. The EEG confirmed his ongoing seizures, but at some point the man went into cardiac arrest. Both he and his family had officially stated that they did not want any efforts to revive him. So the man died soon after. But because the EEG continued to run in the man's final minutes, doctors were able to monitor what was happening in the man's brain as he died.
There have been many attempts to study what happens to our bodies and minds as we die. But much of this research, for obvious reasons, has involved controlled studies in animals rather than humans. Some studies have been able to track the simple brain activity of people as they are removed from life support. But this appears to be the first time that the brain of a dying person has been studied in such detail, using EEG.
See also: Spinal implant gives hope to paralyzed people
The most important finding, the doctors say, is that there may be some truth to the idea that dying people see their lives flash before their eyes. Just before and after the man’s heart stopped beating, for example, there was an increase in brain activity associated with learning and memory. The patterns of brain activity the team recorded in the man as he died resembled patterns seen in people who are dreaming or reminiscing. “Such activity,” the scientists wrote, “could support the idea of a final ‘life recall’ that may take place shortly before death.”
Of course, these findings are based on brain measurements from just one person. The man had suffered brain trauma and swelling, had seizures, and was taking medication before his death, all of which could have affected his brain activity. So the activity the researchers observed may not be the same as what the average person would experience as they pass away. But the authors also note that much of what they found is consistent with what has been observed in laboratory studies of dying rats, suggesting that their research could be generalized.
See also: Robot performed laparoscopic surgery on pigs without human assistance
Οι συγγραφείς της μελέτης σκοπεύουν να ψάξουν παρόμοιες περιπτώσεις και ελπίζουν ότι η περαιτέρω έρευνα θα δείξει όντως αν ισχύει ότι η ζωή μας περνά μπροστά από τα μάτια μας πριν πεθάνουμε.
"Something we can learn from this research is that, even though our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us, their brains may be replaying some of the most beautiful moments they experienced in their lives," said the study's author.
Source: Gizmodo
