How do people feel before they die? Scientists have discovered something common to all

Why do people on the verge of death talk about vivid images, tunnels of light and a sense of peace? Researchers from the University of Liège (Belgium) have proposed the first neuroscientific model that combines different data from biology, psychology and evolution to explain what happens to the brain in such moments.

Details: Charlotte Martial et al, A neuroscientific model of near-death experiences, Nature Reviews Neurology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41582-025-01072-z

The study is published in Nature Reviews Neurology and is based on data from cardiac arrest survivors, animal studies and research into the effects of psychedelics.

According to the researchers, the triggering of near-death experiences is influenced by:

• lack of oxygen (hypoxia);

• excess carbon dioxide;

• a sudden drop in energy levels in brain cells;

• the release of large amounts of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit signals between brain cells).

As a result, receptors for serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters are activated, causing vivid visual images, a sense of calm, loss of time sense and even "leaving the body".

Interestingly, according to the study, near-death experiences can be similar to states induced by psychedelics like ketamine or DMT. This explains why people feel something out of the ordinary, yet describe similar images.

They also found that people who have an increased tendency to dissociation (detachment) or the "intrusion" of dream fragments into wakefulness (as in narcolepsy) are prone to such states.

Based on all the data scientists have created a new model called NEPTUNE - it explains how and why such experiences appear, and what they have in common with survival mechanisms in animals, for example, pretending to be dead in a dangerous situation.

The researchers emphasise that although their theory still requires further evidence, it could change the way we understand the brain, consciousness and even define new approaches to medical protocols for cardiac arrest.