麻豆传媒

Researchers are making new strides when it comes to understanding death, according to a new study.

One in five people who survive cardiac arrest after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may recall lucid experiences of death, with detection of rhythmic brain waves suggestive of near-death experiences, reported Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, director of critical care and resuscitation research at NYU Langone Health.

"We wanted to do a study to understand what people really experience when they've gone to the brink of death and are brought back, and [whether we] could find any brain markers that support what millions of people have been saying for decades -- that they have lucid and heightened consciousness when they are on the verge of death," Parnia told 麻豆传媒.

The , which was recently presented at a Resuscitation Science Symposium during the American Heart Association annual meeting in Chicago, involved 567 people whose hearts stopped beating while hospitalized and received CPR from May 2017 to March 2020 in the U.S. and the U.K.

Of these individuals, 53 survived; 28 completed interviews, and 11 reported cardiac arrest memories or perceptions suggestive of consciousness, Parnia said.

More specifically, survivors reported having unique lucid experiences, such as perceiving a separation from their body, or observing events without pain or distress, he added.

One survivor recalled a perceived separation from their body, noting "I found myself well above the operating theater." According to another survivor, "I went through a tunnel at high speed. It was wonderful there, and I did not want to come back."

They also reported experiences that included a meaningful evaluation of life, including their actions, intentions, and thoughts towards others.

One explained that "I was given a life review ... during the review, we revisit scenes from our life." Another noted, "I saw my entire life in great detail, and experienced feelings through it of satisfaction, shame, repentance."

The researchers found the experiences of death to be different from things like hallucinations, delusions, or CPR-induced consciousness.

Notably, the study also included tests for hidden brain activity, with the researchers finding spikes of brain activity, including gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves, up to an hour into CPR.

Finding brain markers up to an hour into resuscitation is suggestive of lucid, heightened consciousness, Parnia said.

According to Parnia, the implications of the study may include showing that social conventions surrounding death are antiquated and that experiences people have in relation to death are unique, rather than hallucinations or delusions.

The researchers concluded that studies to date have not been able to definitively prove the reality or meaning of patients' near-death experiences, but no study has ever disproved them either.

Science has "pushed into the postmortem period," he said. "There's a whole new field that's developing in this area ... exploring things that occur beyond death."

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