What happens in the brain when we die has always been a source of mystery (for centuries). Now, a team of neuroscientists has unintentionally recorded brain signals from a dying brain while using electroencephalography (EEG) to detect and treat seizures in an 87-year-old man. In this scenario, the patient went into cardiac arrest and his brain activity was recorded. It was the first time that scientists have recorded the activity of a dying human brain.
What happens to the brain when we die?
Previous studies posited that our lives flash before our eyes in our final moments; that we relive our whole life in a few seconds. As if it were lightning. This process, known as “recall of life,” could be similar to having a near-death experience. And this seems to confirm the recent study.
The new research, in which scientists measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death (during and after), published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience , suggests that our brains may remain active and coordinated during and after the transition to death, and may even be programmed to orchestrate the entire ordeal . This finding “challenges our understanding of when exactly life ends and raises important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”
The scientists established “a specific approach to examine what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” explains Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, USA and leader of the work.
memory of life
The results revealed rhythmic brain activity comparable to that seen during dreams . Analysis of the electroencephalogram recording revealed changes in brain waves before and after the heart stopped beating, including specific types of waves associated with higher cognitive function. Thus, they showed brain waves that are usually activated while we dream, evoke memories and process information.
“Through the generation of oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be replaying a last memory of major life events just before death, similar to those reported in near-death experiences,” suggests the study. expert.
According to experts, the brain is capable of coordinated activity even after blood stops flowing through it. While similar changes in gamma waves have been detected near death in rats, this is the first time such activity has been identified in humans.
This means that it is possible that, during death, the brain organizes and executes a biological response that could be conserved in all species.
As always, these types of results should be taken with caution , as they are based on a single case of a patient whose brain had already sustained damage and was experiencing unusual epilepsy-related activity. Investigators hope to investigate further in other cases.
“One thing we can learn from this research is that even though our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to let us rest, their brains may be replaying some of the best moments they’ve ever experienced ,” Zemmar concluded.
Referencia: Ajmal Zemmar et al. Enhanced Interplay of Neuronal Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain. Frontiers Aging Neuroscience., 22 February 2022 |DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.813531
