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https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-b...tivity-nde
INTRO: The last words Steve Jobs, the legendary Apple founder, spoke were simple: "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow."
Their mystery is enticing – what did Jobs, the digital prophet who brought us the smartphone, see as he neared death? We’ll never know. But stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) tantalise the living, and something unique seems to be happening inside our brains as we sense death approaching.
Despite NDE testimonies, the moments surrounding death largely remain a mystery to us, especially when it comes to the actual experience of dying. But scientists have recently begun to explore what happens in the final moment of life by gathering data on brain activity from patients who are dying.
Using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, researchers are able to watch how patterns of brain activity change in the moments leading up to death. The results are preliminary so far, but they show distinctive bursts of coordinated neural activity, indicating that something significant is indeed happening as our brains intuit that death may be near.
Better understanding this activity could not only demystify the dying process – offering comfort to those who have lost loved ones or are nearing death themselves – but might also help explain some of the puzzles of consciousness as well... (MORE - details)
INTRO: The last words Steve Jobs, the legendary Apple founder, spoke were simple: "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow."
Their mystery is enticing – what did Jobs, the digital prophet who brought us the smartphone, see as he neared death? We’ll never know. But stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) tantalise the living, and something unique seems to be happening inside our brains as we sense death approaching.
Despite NDE testimonies, the moments surrounding death largely remain a mystery to us, especially when it comes to the actual experience of dying. But scientists have recently begun to explore what happens in the final moment of life by gathering data on brain activity from patients who are dying.
Using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, researchers are able to watch how patterns of brain activity change in the moments leading up to death. The results are preliminary so far, but they show distinctive bursts of coordinated neural activity, indicating that something significant is indeed happening as our brains intuit that death may be near.
Better understanding this activity could not only demystify the dying process – offering comfort to those who have lost loved ones or are nearing death themselves – but might also help explain some of the puzzles of consciousness as well... (MORE - details)
