Scientists have ground-breaking explanation for what we see just before death
Topics: News, Science, Health, Technology
Amelia Jones
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/BSIP SA/Viktor Gladkov
Topics: News, Science, Health, Technology
Scientists have made a radical new discovery about what people see just before they die - and it's a little more neurological than supernatural.
Researchers from the University of Michigan are the ones behind the sombre research and they wanted to explain why, when people are dying, they consistently report seeing a bright light, hearing voices call out to them or seeing their long-gone loved ones.
This field of research is still in its infancy, with the study including only a very small human sample of four patients.
But, despite the study's limitations, the scientists behind it hope it will pave the way for further research into the mysterious area of how our brains function moments away from dying and then react to death.
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The four patients studied sadly died after a cardiac arrest during electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring.
An EEG test uses electrodes attached to the scalp to track the brain's electrical activity and signals.
Their life support was removed with their families' permission and, as the ventilator were removed, two experienced an increased in brain and heart activity - the other two patients did not display the same increase in brain or heart activity output.
Their final stats showed an increase in heart rate - and an unexpected surge of gamma-wave activity in an area of the brain responsible for consciousness, dreaming, and hallucinations.
Gamma wave activity is associated with consciousness, intense thought and focus and has been linked to seizures schizophrenia - including delusions and hallucinations.
The two study participants who experienced increased gamma-wave activity had previously experienced seizures - but not in the hour before death, which means that can't explain it away.
The conclusions drawn from the results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists behind the research believe that these waves and the hallucinations they cause could be responsible for reports of people seeing a bright light, hearing voices, or having visions of those they love near death.
The scientists say global statements can't be made about the study's implications due to the limited sample size - and the patients were obviously unable to comment on their experience.
Professor Jimo Borjigin, of the University of Michigan who led the study alongside co-author Dr. George Mashour, told The Guardian: "How vivid experience can emerge from a dysfunctional brain during the process of dying is a neuroscientific paradox.
"We saw potential neuro-signatures of consciousness.”
He then added: "It may be activating internal covert consciousness, bringing out memories of the past, it could be a brain survival mechanism, we don’t know."