What happens when we actually die, when our heart stops and all activity stagnates in our brain? It’s a difficult question to answer, since the dead don’t talk to us about the nature of their experiences…
However, scientists have made great strides in understanding the process of the brain’s transition from life to death! Scientists have observed the brains of dying people. And some of these people have also been able to testify to what they have experienced! Find out more!
What is a near-death experience?
Anear-death experience (NDE) is an experience enjoyed by some people who have had a near-death or traumatic (coma) experience. These experiences are often described as profoundly transcendental and out of the ordinary. Scenarios and sensations vary from person to person.
This phenomenon describes the journey of people close to death who have finally found their way back to life, and who bear witness to a possible life after death. These people have therefore been declared clinically dead for a few minutes.
Thousands of testimonies have been collected and IME is often described in different ways, but a few common characteristics stand out:
- A phenomenon of decorporation (the soul leaves the body and the person is able to see themselves from outside),
- The vision of a tunnel of light,
- A geometric change in the room,
- The accelerated vision of his life,
- Encounters with deceased loved ones or other spiritual entities,
- A feeling of peace, love and tranquillity,
- The return to life is described as instantaneous and testing.
The scientific viewpoint of this experiment
According to recent research published last September in the journal Resuscitation, the brains of some cardiac arrest patients were bursting with activity, even though the heart had stopped beating for nearly an hour.
The researchers interpret the brain recordings they made on these patients as markers of » lucid, recalled death experiences » .
Between May 2017 and March 2020, 567 people suffered cardiac arrest at hospitals participating in the study. Of all the patients, only 53 survived. Of the survivors, 40% reported some awareness of the event without specific memories, and 20% appeared to have had a death experience.
These findings raise questions about the brain’s resilience in the face of oxygen deprivation. According to study author Sam Parnia, associate professor of medicine « The traditional thinking of doctors is that the brain, once deprived of oxygen for five to ten minutes, dies, we were able to show that the brain is quite robust in terms of its ability to withstand oxygen deprivation for prolonged periods, which opens up new avenues for finding treatments for brain injury in the future. »
The research team proposes a hypothesis explaining that the brain, usually equipped with « braking systems » to filter cerebral activity, releases these brakes during imminent death. This allows full access to consciousness, including thoughts and memories, easing the transition to death.
Intensive care unit doctor Lakhmir Chawla reminds us that « for people who no longer seem to be able to be saved, doctors should invite their families to come and say goodbye, as the patient may still be able to hear them… ».