Near-Death Brain Activity: Scientists Detect Mysterious Gamma Burst After the Heart Stops

Much is said about people who undergo near-death experiences or clinical death and return to describe what they saw and felt. But ultimately, these individuals are a minority.

What about every person who dies — those who normally do not return once the dying process begins? Is there evidence that even in an ordinary death, the soul does not disappear but instead becomes stronger once it is no longer trapped in the body?

What Happens in the Brain at the Moment of Death?

Dr. Stuart Hameroff, an anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, has focused his research on exactly this question. He monitored people who were close to death and documented their brain activity in the moments of dying. What he found was striking — and occurred in every person, not only in rare cases.

Researchers placed tiny sensors on the brains of terminally ill patients minutes before they were disconnected from life-support machines. This allowed them to record brain activity even after blood pressure and heart rate dropped to zero.

In an interview with the YouTube channel Project Unity, Dr. Hameroff explained that a mysterious surge occurs in the brain at the moment of death — one he believes may represent the soul leaving the body. “Everything faded, and then suddenly these bursts of activity appeared,” he explained. “This could be a near-death experience — or perhaps it is the soul leaving the body.”

The Sudden Burst: Gamma Synchronization After the Heart Stops

After the heart of one patient stopped beating, his brain showed a sudden burst of high-frequency activity known as gamma synchronization, which lasted 30 to 90 seconds before disappearing.

Gamma synchronization is a type of brain wave associated with conscious thought, awareness, and perception — the kind of activity that occurs when we think, focus, or process information.

This means that even after the heart has completely stopped, the brain briefly shows signs that may be linked to consciousness or perception.

Consciousness at the Quantum Level: Beyond Brain Electricity

Dr. Hameroff believes that consciousness operates at a deeper quantum level within the brain’s microtubules — tiny structural components inside neurons, rather than solely via electrical signals between nerve cells.

According to him, this may explain:

• how people can remain conscious even when overall brain activity is extremely low

• how awareness persists during anesthesia, deep sleep, or near-death experiences

Contrary to the common assumption that consciousness becomes deeper and clearer when the brain is more active, the findings may suggest the opposite: physical limitations suppress consciousness, and its release from the body intensifies it.

The Scientific Debate: Oxygen Loss or Something Beyond?

The researchers suggest that the bursts might simply be caused by the sudden loss of oxygen to the brain.

Dr. Hameroff proposes an additional possibility: If the quantum information stored in the microtubules is not destroyed at death but instead disperses into the universe, it may return if a person is resuscitated — explaining near-death experiences.

If the person is not resuscitated, this quantum information might continue to exist outside the body indefinitely — perhaps as a soul.

Dr. Hameroff and his colleagues phrase it cautiously, and scientifically reserved, yet acknowledging the possibility of spirituality and the independent existence of the soul.