The first-ever recorded account of a person’s final moments has given us a glimpse into our last thoughts.

Human curiosity about what happens after death has likely existed since the beginning of time. While scientists now believe they may have caught a glimpse of our final moments, we will likely need to wait until we are gone to confirm it for ourselves.

This breakthrough occurred when an 87-year-old man with epilepsy passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack while doctors in Vancouver, Canada, were studying his brain. The results from the electroencephalogram (EEG) test allowed researchers to analyze what was happening in his brain during the critical thirty seconds before and after his heart stopped.

Interestingly, the old notion that life “flashes before your eyes” may have some truth to it. Researchers discovered that “gamma oscillations” in the brain increased during this time. These oscillations are linked to dreaming and memory retrieval, which suggests the patient might have been reliving past experiences just before passing away.

Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, the lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience, explained, “By generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain might be re-experiencing significant life events just before death, similar to those reported in near-death experiences.”

“These results challenge our understanding of when life truly ends and raise important questions, such as those about the timing of organ donation.”

While this is the first time such a phenomenon has been observed in humans, the study also found similar changes in brainwaves in rats at the time of death.

As with many scientific findings, the team emphasized that further research is needed to confirm these results. It is important to remember that the data comes from a single case study, and the patient had pre-existing brain damage from epilepsy. Consequently, experts cannot predict with certainty whether the same brain activity would have occurred in another person near death.

Dr. Zemmar reflected, “One thing we may learn from this research is that, even when our loved ones are closing their eyes and about to leave us, their brains might be replaying some of the most beautiful moments of their lives.”