Researchers Say Your Life May Really ‘Flash Before Your Eyes’ As You Die

In reviewing the brainwave data produced in the time just before and after the man’s death, the neuroscientists found that the rhythmic brain wave patterns were similar to the patterns that occur when we dream, recall memories or meditate. The EEG (electroencephalography) data which was being used to help treat the man’s epilepsy showed that his brain waves (known as oscillations) included gamma waves that are involved in high cognitive functions that are also produced during moments of a memory flashback.

“We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and set a specific focus to investigate what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” said Dr Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, US, who organized the study. “Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha and beta oscillations. 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,” Zemmar speculated.