Surges of activity in the dying human brain could hint at fleeting conscious experiences

Of their final minutes of life, some individuals’s brains generate a surge of surprisingly organized-looking electrical exercise that will replicate consciousness — though scientists aren’t solely positive. 

In accordance with new analysis, printed Monday (Could 1) within the journal PNAS (opens in new tab), this surge can typically happen after an individual’s respiratory stops however earlier than the mind stops functioning. The exercise sample is considerably comparable to what’s seen when individuals are awake or in dreamlike states, resulting in hypothesis that maybe these electrical surges replicate the otherworldly experiences reported by individuals who’ve had shut brushes with dying: A way of trying on the physique from the surface; a tunnel and white gentle; or a way of reliving vital reminiscences.