For the first time ever, scientists have recorded the activity of a dying human brain, discovering that it showed the same patterns as seen during dreaming, memory recall and meditation, a new study has revealed.
Findings published in journal Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience on Tuesday showed the recording of the activity in an 87-year-old patient who had been connected to an electroencephalography (EEG) machine to detect seizures and treat the patient, when he suddenly had a heart attack and passed away.
The 900 seconds of brain activity that were measured around the time of the patient’s death were described as being similar to “life recall.” The experience, which has been likened to what happens around a near-death experience, potentially answers a question about brain activity in these moments which has puzzled neuroscientists.
“Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die,” Dr Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville in the US, who organized the study, said.