Terminal lucidity

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Terminal lucidity is an unexpected return of mental clarity shortly before death in people who have previously been dull, confused, demented, or nonresponsive. The term was coined in 2009 by biologist Michael Nahm and psychiatrist Bruce Greyson. Remarkable cases have occurred in individuals with severe psychiatric or neurological disorders. Cases have been reported since the 19th century and have also been called premortem clarity or lightening up before death. The related term paradoxical lucidity describes a surge of mental clarity in people with severe neurodegeneration of the brain, but its occurrence is not restricted to the time before death. Terminal lucidity is not considered a medical term and there is no official consensus on the identifying characteristics. Terminal lucidity is poorly understood in medical and psychological research, and there is no consensus on what the underlying mechanisms are. It has occurred in cases of severe dementia, challenging the idea that such conditions...

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