These oscillations would suggest that the patient was spending his last moments recalling memories from the past.
“By producing oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a final recall of significant life events just before we die,
Similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” explained Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
He continued by saying that the results may alter our perception of the precise end of life and bring up significant issues about the appropriate time to donate an organ.
This is the first time that such brainwave patterns have been reported in humans, but the research found similar patterns in rats around the moment of death.
The researchers stress that further study is necessary to reach definitive results, however. It is unclear if the same patterns would manifest.
