A recent study suggests that researchers may have identified what happens in the brain in the moments before death.
The investigation involved monitoring the brain activity of patients nearing death, some of whom exhibited a surge of gamma wave activity before passing away. This finding may support claims from individuals who have reported seeing white lights and loved ones during near-death experiences.
The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, observed similar gamma wave activity in the brains of dying animals and humans following cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen. The authors, however, caution against making broad conclusions due to the study’s small sample size.
The researchers suggest that larger studies involving patients who survive cardiac arrest could help determine if these bursts in gamma activity indicate covert consciousness during near-death experiences.
