A 2022 study unexpectedly recorded brain activity during a patient's death, revealing that the brain may remain active and exhibit memory-like waves, such as gamma oscillations, suggesting that our lives might indeed flash before our eyes as we die, although findings are preliminary and based on a single case.
Researchers have found that everyone's brain has a unique 'pain fingerprint' that varies from person to person, with significant differences in the timing, frequency, and location of gamma oscillations - brain waves linked to pain perception. Some individuals showed no gamma waves at all. The pattern of individual gamma responses was found to be stable over time, pointing towards the existence of individual 'pain fingerprints'. This research underscores the extreme variability of pain response among individuals and suggests the potential to identify individual 'pain fingerprints'.
A new study has found that there can be a surge of brain activity linked to consciousness during the dying process. The study aimed to investigate the brain activity of patients during the dying process, particularly focusing on whether there are any neural correlates of consciousness. The researchers identified four patients who died from cardiac arrest while under EEG monitoring. Two of the patients showed an increase in heart rate and a surge of gamma wave activity upon removal of life support. This activity was observed in the “hot zone” of the brain associated with consciousness, specifically the junction between the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes.