New evidence suggests that in the process of dying, we become aware that we are dying because the brain continues to function for some time after the heart has stopped beating. An American scientist and physician interviewed 2,060 people from different countries who have experienced cardiac arrest, and heard something unexpected. True, some colleagues were skeptical about its discovery.
New discoveries indicate that in the process of dying we realize that we are dying because our brain continues to function for some time after the heart has stopped beating.
For a short moment, we become prisoners of death, while our fate is being decided.
The feeling of closeness to death is perhaps the most vivid thing a person can experience. This phenomenon is often described as the impression that the whole life is flashing before the eyes; a person sees a light tunnel or feels himself outside the body; it seems to him that he comes into contact with relatives and friends “from the other side,” that time is accelerating or, conversely, slowing down.
Some even think they saw the next life. But what is really going on?
Remember how they were brought back to life
Dr. Sam Parnia, a scientist and resuscitator from New York, decided to conduct a study on material from 2060 people from Europe and the United States: many patients who survived cardiac arrest told him their stories. It turned out that 46% of the reanimated remembered the process of revival, although after recovery the majority lost their memories of this.
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Most surprisingly, two of the patients retained detailed and extensive memories (visual and auditory) of the resuscitation team's work and watched the doctors announce their deaths. This happened a full three minutes after the heart stopped beating, the brain stopped functioning, and the electroencephalogram no longer recorded any electrical oscillations.
Simply put, this seems to be impossible at all.
Could it be that consciousness somehow exists independently of the normal functioning of the brain? This would explain why patients remember their own intensive care so clearly, according to a study by Sam Parnia.
Swedish scientist is skeptical
Henrik Jörntell, associate professor of neuroscience at Lund University, is very skeptical:
"This study is somewhat suspicious, I must tell you, because almost all Western medicine defines death in terms of brain death."
Sam Parnia completely excluded the discussion of brain death from his research, he proceeded from the fact that the brain does not function at all after cardiac arrest.
Brain death is defined as a lack of brain activity on at least two checks made two hours apart. If the heart has stopped beating, this does not mean that the brain has died out forever, even if a complete cardiac arrest leads to brain death on average in five to ten minutes, unless resuscitation measures are taken.
Cardiac arrest means complete oxygen deprivation, followed by an extremely strong stress signal from the brain.
“At this time, the brain will not function normally, and it is doubtful that in such a situation there is any meaningful consciousness. Probably, a quasi-consciousness flickers for a couple of minutes, like when a person falls asleep, and because of this, a little strange experiences like those that happen in a dream can arise, says Henrik Jörntell.
Memories like dreams
There are indications that after cardiac arrest, we remain conscious for much longer than scientists previously thought.
Another, perhaps more reliable, explanation for this phenomenon concerns the dream-like sensations that occur just before we lose consciousness.
The mystery of death is that we cannot know exactly what happens when we die, and research continues. But one thing is clear for sure: one day we will all know, the only question is whether we will remember.
Locked man syndrome
A patient with "locked-in person syndrome" fully retains consciousness and normal brain activity, but cannot control his body, which means talking and moving. It seems to an outsider that the person is dead.
Locked-in syndrome can be caused by impaired blood circulation and brain function.
It is not known exactly what is happening, but it seems that it is important for the brain to constantly check that the body is functioning. The brain unconsciously does this around the clock, all our lives, so that we do not lose our vital consciousness. Even in the deepest sleep, reminiscent of a state of faint consciousness, mechanisms are at work in the brain that can naturally awaken us from sleep. These mechanisms are very reliable and stable, but they can still be broken.
Locked-in Syndrome is a very unpleasant but fortunately rare condition.
What is brain death
Brain death is a clinical term used in almost all Western medicine. It has been used in Sweden since 1988. Thanks to the concept of brain death, we can now perform transplants and use donor organs.
The following criteria must be met to be considered brain dead:
- in the course of two clinical measurements carried out by an expert in the diagnosis of brain death at least two hours apart, no brain function was recorded;
- all basic reflexes are absent: pupil reactions, pain reactions, eye movements and respiratory movements should not occur;
- the cause of the brain damage is known, such as physical injury or hemorrhage.
Exceptions in the ascertaining of brain death can be made in case of difficult situations, such as severe hypothermia, poisoning, drug overdose, and so on. Then according to the law, in order to announce the death of the brain, in addition to all of the above, cerebral angiography is required, something like a contrast X-ray of the vessels of the brain.