We've all heard the 'myth' about life literally flashing before your eyes when you encounter a near-death experience (NDE), or when a person does actually die.
But there's never been a way to actually support that theory. After all, a person on the verge of death would literally have to get their brain scanned as they breathe their last breaths. However, in most cases, this would be deemed medically unethical – making a person spend the final moments of their life inside an MRI machine.
Accidental recording of death.
IMAGE: Frontiers In Ageing Neuroscience
Back in 2016, a team of researchers set out to scan the brainwaves of an 87-year-old man with epilepsy. They wound up accidentally recording what happens during the moment of a human brain's death. It was supposed to be a routine scan in which the team used continuous electroencephalography (EEG) to detect seizures that commonly occur in epilepsy patients.
However, the elderly man suddenly suffered a fatal heart attack while still in the MRI machine. What the researchers observed in the recording (900 seconds long) is rather fascinating, and could provide further insight into what happens when we die.
They found that in the 30 seconds before and after the man's heart stopped beating, the brain acted very unusually.
What do you imagine death to be like? IMAGE: Cris Trung / Unsplash
"Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations," said senior researcher Ajmal Zemmar of the University of Louisville in Kentucky. At the time of the discovery, he was a neurosurgeon at the University of Toronto, Canada.
"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."
In other words, during the moments leading up to the man's death, his life effectively 'flashed' before his eyes, with other researchers involved in the study saying the brain activity resembled patterns observed during a state of dreaming, concentration, or meditation. This also makes it the first-ever recording of a dying human brain, albeit accidental.
"This was actually totally by chance, we did not plan to do this experiment or record these signals," Zemmar told the BBC.
Are these profound flashbacks real?
According to Zemmar, it's virtually impossible to tell.
IMAGE: Andalucía Andaluía / Unsplash
"If I were to jump to the philosophical realm, I would speculate that if the brain did a flashback, it would probably like to remind you of good things, rather than the bad things," he said.
Of course, this totally depends on the person having said flashback. Some people's brains may only be filled with bad memories.
But as with all discoveries of this nature, Zemmar thinks it's best we take the findings with a grain of salt. There are multiple things we have to consider with the 87-year-old patient. The first of which, is the fact that he had epilepsy. His brain had also been bleeding and swollen, which further complicates things when looking at the recordings.
Additionally, this has so far been the only recorded death of a human brain. Coming to a concrete conclusion about the possibility of flashbacks would be extremely premature.
"I never felt comfortable to report one case," Zemmar said. In the six years since the initial discovery in 2016, the team has worked hard to find similar cases that involved the recording of human brain deaths – but to no avail.
Despite the lack of resources, Zemmar is hopeful to find other cases in the future. He also takes comfort in the distant possibility that our loved ones might be replaying their fondest memories when they leave us.
“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," he said.
"I think there's something mystical and spiritual about this whole near-death experience. And findings like this – it's a moment that scientists live for."
Click here to check out the full study.
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