New studies on brain activity during the dying process suggest that the brain may remain active even after clinical death. Medical researchers propose that these energy spikes could indicate the soul’s departure from the body. Research involving electroencephalograms (EEGs) of dying patients has revealed gamma brain activity, traditionally linked to cognitive functions, raising questions about consciousness beyond death and offering new insights into the mystery of the afterlife.

Dr Stuart Hameroff, an anaesthesiologist and professor of anaesthesiology and psychology at the University of Arizona, told The Independent that new studies have suggested that the brain activity of a clinically dead patient is a sign of the “soul leaving the body”.

Speaking in an interview with Project Unity, Dr Hameroff spoke about the study. He explained that, despite having almost no other signs of life, the electroencephalogram (EEG) reading saw an energy spike in the brain.

“They saw everything go away, and then … you got this activity when there was no blood pressure, no heart rate,” Hameroff explained. “So that could be the near-death experience, or it could be the soul leaving the body, perhaps.”

One such study, titled “Surge of neurophysiological coupling and connectivity of gamma oscillations in the dying human brain” looked into this by monitoring the brains of four dying patients.

The authors explained: “We addressed this issue by analysing the electroencephalograms (EEG) of four dying patients before and after the clinical withdrawal of their ventilatory support and found that the resultant global hypoxia markedly stimulated gamma activities in two of the patients.”