Experts Learn More About the Brain During Death

A new study supports previous research about what happens in the brain when we die, at least to some of us.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Despite everything we’ve collectively learned as a species, many unexplainable mysteries prevail — and one of them, in particular, is known to haunt us. The age-old quandary of “what happens when we die?” Like many people, I’ve imagined all sorts of answers to that question over the years.

But I’m increasingly becoming aware that our modern and rapidly advancing society might be on its way to finding out — not philosophically, but scientifically. A few studies over the last few years are illuminating our body’s relationship with death, particularly regarding brain activity, which could someday explain the bright lights and memories near-death survivors report.

Previous Research

Waaaaaay back, last year, I told you about an invaluable accident that, while tragic, inched us forward toward learning what happens when we die.

Essentially, doctors were monitoring the electrical activity of an 87-year-old epilepsy patient using electroencephalography (EEG) when the patient suffered a heart attack from a traumatic subdural hematoma and died unexpectedly. A terrible tragedy, to be…