“The point is it shows that consciousness is actually, probably, a very low energy process,” he explained.

“This has been a fairly reproducible event, not 100% like 50% of patients show this when you measure it.”

Researchers involved in the study proposed that the most likely explanation for these bursts of activity is oxygen deprivation in the brain.

Discussing this theory on Through the Wormhole, a documentary series on The Science Channel, Hameroff elaborated: “Let’s say the heart stops beating, the blood stops flowing; the microtubules lose their quantum state.

“The quantum information within the microtubules is not destroyed, it can’t be destroyed, and it just distributes and dissipates to the universe at large.”

He continued: “If the patient is resuscitated, or revived, this quantum information can go back into the microtubules and the patient says ‘I had a near-death experience.’

“If they’re not revived, and the patient dies, it’s possible that this quantum information can exist outside the body, perhaps indefinitely, as a soul.”

In this groundbreaking study, the team of experts concluded: “In our critical care practice, we spend a significant amount of time with grieving families. In these interactions, we have found that the idea that ‘something’ happens at the time of death is comforting to the families.”