What strange reactions will occur in the body before death? Can there really be a last moment of life?

Expert of this article: Zhang Yinming, PhD in Forensic Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University

I wonder if you have ever had this experience:

I saw that the patient's complexion and spirit suddenly improved, and his appetite increased. I thought that his condition had improved, but it turned out to be a short-lived surprise, and he passed away not long after.

The topic of death is always a heavy one. Although birth, aging, sickness and death are common sense, the abnormal phenomena that some people experience before their death confuse many people.

In fact, this is what everyone calls a last moment of life. Does a person really experience a last moment of life before he or she dies? Why does this happen? What other changes does the body experience before death? Let's uncover the secrets together.

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What is a last flicker of light?

Is it true that there will be a last moment of enlightenment before death?

Terminal lucidity refers to a person's abnormally lucid state before death.

In 2019, an article published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia reviewed the possible neuroscience mechanisms of terminal lucidity.

Abnormal lucidity may occur in the terminal state of patients with various diseases. Because lucidity occurs very suddenly, it cannot be the result of the nervous system returning to normal.

The brain nerves of patients in a long-term coma are often inhibited by toxic proteins, causing abnormal fluctuations in consciousness. This may be the result of temporary relief or compensation of the inhibitory effects of toxic proteins, as well as the gradual amplification of signal transmission by the nervous system, modification of connections between nerve cells, and overall regulation of neural network interactions.

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Some patients with severe impaired consciousness can be observed to experience a significant increase in neurophysiological activity before death. Scientists speculate that this is due to the increase in neurotransmitter levels caused by decreased or fluctuating oxygen and glucose levels, which leads to a temporary increase in brain activity.

In some dying people or those in a hypoxic state, a large number of neurochemical and neuroelectric signals can be released in the brain, which is believed to be related to the functional activities of the complex brain system. This may lead to temporary functional integration of the neural network, which manifests as conscious behavioral activities.

Although the research on the mechanism of terminal lucidity is not yet in-depth, scientists believe that it is not just the activity of the central nervous system but the systemic changes of the entire human body that are the cause of the lucid stage before death.

What happens when a person is dying?

The classic death process includes: near-death stage, clinical death stage, and biological death stage.

1

Near-death period

The beginning of death, the process of pathological changes and functional failure of important life organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain caused by various factors. If an individual enters this stage in time and receives timely and effective treatment, the dying process may be reversed.

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2

Clinical death

The functions of the brainstem respiratory center and cardiovascular motor center are inhibited or stopped, and breathing and heartbeat stop, blood pressure and pulse disappear. The duration is about the tolerance time of cerebral ischemia and hypoxia (5-6 minutes). If active treatment is given within this time limit, resuscitation is still possible.

3

Biological death

The final stage of death is irreversible damage or loss of function of the entire brain or brainstem vital centers.

What other experiences will you have before you die?

Among the major organs of the human body, the one most susceptible to harmful factors is the brain.

When the lack of blood and oxygen lasts for 5 to 6 minutes, the brain function will be irreversibly damaged until it is completely lost (brain death). However, for a period of time thereafter, other organs can still maintain a certain survival state, which is the best time for brain-dead organ donation and transplantation.

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During the death process, the sensory organs may still maintain certain functions for a period of time. The most famous example is the near-death experience. After analyzing the data of the near-death and suicide attempters, American scholars such as Moody summarized the five basic stages of the near-death experience:

Calm, peaceful, relaxed

Consciousness escapes from the body

Through "black holes" and "noise"

Gathering with family and friends

Review your life in the light and merge with the universe

Different scholars have different interpretations of near-death experiences:

Pharmacological explanation: Near-death experience is a hallucination caused by the therapeutic drugs used by the patient, common drugs include lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) etc.

Biochemical explanation: When a person is near death, the brain is in a state of hypoxia, secreting excessive amounts of neurotransmitters, causing strange hallucinations;

Neurophysiological explanation: NDEs are a combination of simple and complex imagery, possibly due to light hallucinations produced by electrical signals from nerve cells in the visual pathways;

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Psychiatric explanation: Some sensations in near-death experiences are similar to psychiatric symptoms, such as a sense of being out of one's body;

Explanations of other viewpoints: Legends about the afterlife are spread all over the world, and the understanding of the afterlife may have entered the subconscious of modern people; people who return to reality from hallucinations are often weak and dazed, and do not want to be bothered and disturbed by too many questioners, so the best way is to please them.

In addition to being able to "hear" noises during near-death experiences, an article in the journal Scientific Reports in 2020 suggests that hearing may be the last sense lost after death.

Death does not prevent us from expressing our care and love for our loved ones. Companionship may be temporarily suspended, but growth continues.

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