scientist North Americans spotted a surge of activity in the brains of two patients on the brink of death. University of Michigan researchers said the phenomenon is analogous to spikes in brain activity previously observed in animals whose hearts have stopped beating. The phenomenon is extremely rare.
Researchers were only able to observe the brain waves of a terminally ill patient for the first time last year. An increase in brain activity called gamma waves has been recorded. This study by US scientists reports a similar increase in gamma activity in two out of four patients removed from life support.
Since 2013, neurologist Jimo Borjigin has been searching the human brain on the brink of death for parallels to what he found in mice shortly after induced cardiac arrest. Scientists suspect that the brief bursts of brain activity seen in the animals may be biological flashes of neardeath experiences (NDEs) reported by many cardiac arrest survivors.
The doctor. Borjigin said, “These results prompted us to examine neural brain activity in dying patients before and after clinical withdrawal of ventilator support.” Scientists are very interested in studying human consciousness through the brain’s electrochemical connections. By examining the brain dynamics of dying patients, they hope to gain concrete insights into the still enigmatic consciousness.
The full study was published in the journal PNAS.
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