Science Uncovers the Brain’s Activity During Near-Death Moments
Near-death experiences (NDEs) fascinate doctors, psychologists, and people who have lived through them. Testimonies of light tunnels, visions, and absolute calm seemed scientifically unexplainable until now. However, a group of neuroscientists from the University of Liege presented the NEPTUNE model, which shows how the brain, in a critical state, releases a storm of neurotransmitters that could give a biological meaning to those transcendent experiences.
### The chemical storm in the brain
When oxygen is scarce after a cardiac arrest or a , the brain does not shut down immediately: it enters a brief but intense state of hyperactivity. According to the NEPTUNE model, this situation triggers the massive release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, GABA, and endorphins.
Each substance plays a role: for example, serotonin generates visions comparable to those induced by psychedelics; endorphins produce calm and pain relief; and dopamine intensifies the emotional charge, giving the experience an undeniable sense of reality.
### Light tunnels, peace, and vivid memories
The model helps understand why many NDEs include luminous tunnels, encounters with deceased loved ones, or a perception of profound love. Moreover, , allowing those who have gone through these episodes to remember every detail with precision, even while clinically unconscious.
Scientists also warn that not all experiences are positive: in some cases, dark images and feelings of fear prevail, influenced by the emotional state, beliefs, and physical condition of the patient.
### An evolutionary survival strategy
Charlotte Martial and her team propose that NDEs could have an adaptive origin. Just like thanatosis in certain animals — a kind of feigned immobility in the face of predators — the human brain would activate a dissociative state to endure extreme suffering, disconnecting from.
### Science and transcendence in dialogue
The NEPTUNE model does not deny the subjective dimension of NDEs or provide certainties about the existence of an afterlife. Its goal is to show how, in extreme conditions, the brain fabricates organized and transcendent experiences that many consider more real than life itself.
For neuroscience, understanding these mechanisms not only expands knowledge about consciousness but also reopens the debate about where the boundary between life and death begins and ends.
