At the time of death, the brain could replay the most pleasant moments experienced by humans during their life, according to the first conclusions of a study.
“See his life scroll”: simple expression or real vision of humans just before dying? According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience and picked up by The Independantit would be a reality.
It all started with a brain wave study of an epileptic patient conducted by neuroscientists. In the middle of the follow-up, the 87-year-old patient died of a heart attack. But at the time of his death, the device that tracked his brain activity recorded 900 seconds of activity, enough to allow scientists to study what happened just before and after the cardiac arrest.
In particular, they noted an increase in so-called “gamma” brain waves, linked to dreaming, concentration, conscious perception and memory retrieval. Scientists have therefore assumed that the deceased patient may have experienced a last flash reminding him of his life before hugging.
“The brain may make a final recall of important life events just before death, similar to those reported in near-death experiences,” said American neurosurgeon Ajmal Zemmar, one of the co-authors of the study, in a statement. the study.
Revisiting the “Most Pleasant Moments”
The researchers also pointed out that it is difficult to interpret the results of a study conducted on a single patient. However, similar brain activity has already been observed in previous studies conducted on rats. This indicates that, according to them, at the time of death, “the brain can go through a series of stereotyped patterns of activity”.
“One thing we can learn from this research is this: Although our loved ones have their eyes closed and ready to go to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the most enjoyable times they have had. experienced in their lives,” said Ajmal Zemmar.