- New research shows a surge in brain activity at the time of death.
- The activity takes place in a part of the brain known for dreams and altered states of consciousness.
- Researchers say the findings could help explain the vivid near-death experiences (bright lights, hallucinations) reported by people who were close to death.
What happens to our consciousness when we die?
It’s perhaps the biggest question — and source of angst — when it comes to the human condition.
Those who report
While near-death experiences are often viewed through a religious or philosophical lens, researchers from the University of Michigan have studied the phenomenon on a scientific level, finding a spike in brain activity at the time of death.
Their findings were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan, led the study, which builds on earlier research that showed a neural surge in the dying brains of animal test subjects.
“We were postulating that [the surge] may represent neural correlates of consciousness that could potentially link the subjective experiences of people who survive cardiac arrest,” Prof. Borjigin told Medical News Today.
While the research has limitations, researchers say it’s a significant step forward in understanding the underlying reasons for vivid near-death experiences — and offers a glimpse at what our last moments may feel like.
While it’s simple enough to conduct experiments on animals, it’s tough on both an ethical and practical level to study humans in the final stages…
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