Does Life Flash Before the Eyes Upon Dying? Study: Specific Patterns of Waves Recorded in a Dying Brain

Light at the end of the tunnel. Shutterstock

Death has always been a mystery to human beings. What can people see or feel when they are dying? Scientists who recorded the brain waves of a dying patient may have insights into the mystery.

When using continuous electroencephalography (EEG) to record the brain waves of an 87-year-old epileptic man, an international team of scientists monitored his brain activity as he suffered a heart attack and died. The study was published in the February 2022 issue of Front Aging Neuroscience.

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Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville who took part in the study, said specific patterns of brain waves appeared in the patient’s brain 30 seconds before and after his heart stopped beating.