It’s not just a literary or cinematic trope. The idea that people ‘see the light’ or experience vivid, dreamlike hallucinations (such as having their life ‘flash’ before their eyes) at the moment of death has some basis in science.
Near-death experiences are often tantalizingly similar, and include visions of deceased loved ones, bright lights, and the feeling of floating through the air, writes Medical News Today. And it’s common for those who skirt death to report dramatic visions. Now, we may know why…
Researchers find a spike in brain activity at the time of death
In 2023, Jimo Borjigin, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan, co-authored a research paper about what happens in the brain during the moments preceding death.
She and her colleagues used an electrogram device to monitor the brain activity of four people who passed away in hospitals. They wanted to study what happens in the brain at the moment of death. Specifically, they wanted to provide some explanation as to why people who almost die often report experiencing peculiarly similar sensations.
The data they collected was “massive,” she said. And it showed increased activity in the TPJ region of the brain at the time of death. That’s the temporoparietal junction, which plays a crucial role in distinguishing between ourselves and other people.
There appears to be a connection between the TPJ and Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum condition, schizophrenia, and certain anxiety disorders. Meanwhile, connections made there help people understand their emotions. So it’s a complex and important part of the brain.
Medical News Today adds that it has a “known association” with “dreaming, hallucinations, and altered states of consciousness.”
Exploring the connection between the brain activity boost and seeing ‘the light’
“I really wanted to be able to define something in the brain that can potentially explain that subjective near-death experience,” Borjigin says.
“Some of these patients,” meaning the ones they studied, “might have if they had survived to tell their stories, but unfortunately they didn’t.”
Her team’s aim was to connect the dots between the “surge” in brain activity that they recorded just before death and the “subjective experiences” people report following near-death experiences.
Those who have near-death experiences, for example, “may remember seeing or hearing things,” she says. “Or having an out-of-body experience or motion perception as if they’re flying.” This is similar to the collective understanding that people see ‘the light’ just before they die, or else watch their life ‘flash before their eyes.’
The researchers say their study represents a significant step towards understanding the reasons for vivid near-death experiences.
Study sheds light on the fear of suffering at the moment of death, says bioethicist
Healthline spoke to Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at NYU Langone Medical Center, about the study. He says it suggests the brain undergoes “chemical changes” at the moment of death.
“It explains the perceptions people have about seeing angels or light at the end of a tunnel,” he added.
However, it doesn’t offer much insight into what really comes next, he cautions.
“In some ways, this study sheds light on people’s fear that maybe they’re going to suffer when they’re dying at the last moment.” Thankfully, he says, “that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“But maybe they’ll be disappointed because what this study is suggesting is you don’t get any insights from the dying experience into what really comes next.”
