Scientists have investigated what happens to the consciousness of a person on the verge of death
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Scientists have investigated what happens to a person’s brain before death and whether it can remember these events if it survives. Scientists observed the brains of people undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It turned out that there is activity in the human brain even an hour after death. The corresponding study was published in the journal Resuscitation, according to Live Science. Even during cardiac arrest, consciousness and cognitive processes have been observed in people. Also, some people who survived thanks to resuscitation were able to recall the sounds they heard during the process. “Cognitive activity and awareness during cardiac arrest are known but poorly understood. This is the first study to examine consciousness and the underlying electrocortical biomarkers during CPR,” the researchers write. Photo: AndrewLozovyi/Depositphotos “Remembered death experiences” have been recorded in various cultures throughout human history. However, scientists have done little research on near-death hallucinations or dreams. In a new study, scientist Sam Parnia of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and his colleagues tried to find a biological trace of memories of death. They have joined forces with 25 hospitals, mostly in the US and Great Britain. Medical staff used portable devices to measure patients’ brain oxygen levels and electrical activity without interfering with medical treatment. The researchers also tested conscious and unconscious perception by wearing headphones that played a recording of the names of three fruits (banana, pear, and apple) to the patients, as previous studies have shown that even comatose people can unconsciously remember the names of fruits or cities if they whisper in their ear. Read also: The native language spoken by a person can affect his brain – research Initially, doctors collected information on 567 patients who underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Of these, 53 survived, 28 were interviewed by scientists, and 11 reported coma memories/awareness. Scientists have recorded that the brains of some cardiac arrest patients burst into a flurry of activity during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even though the heart had not been beating for nearly an hour. None of the participants interviewed identified the visual images, but one person out of 28 recalled the audio stimulus that was played when doctors tried to resuscitate her. At the same time, the author admits that a person could guess the correct fruit by chance. The researchers also interviewed 126 other cardiac arrest survivors because the previous sample size was too small. Almost 40% of respondents reported some awareness of the event but no specific memories, and 20% had memories of the death. Many described the event as a “moral assessment of their entire lives” and their behavior. Photo: sudok1/Depositphotos The researchers believe that the information they received from the patients are markers of “a conscious experience of death.” Such observations have never been recorded before, says lead study author Sam Parnia. According to him, at the time of death, parts of the brain that are normally at rest become active. This is how a person “gets access” to his entire consciousness, his lifetime memories, etc. “We don’t know what evolutionary benefit this has, but it seems to prepare people for the transition from life to death,” says Parnia. The results of the study may help scientists better understand the nature of brain functioning and the near-death experience during cardiac arrest, according to intensive care physician Lakhmir Chawla, who was not involved in the study. In his opinion, these results also prove: the family should enter the ward to say goodbye to a person who seems to be impossible to save. After all, there is a possibility that the patient can still hear relatives. We will remind, earlier UP. Life found out why people see the “afterlife” at moments of clinical death. Read also: 5 things that people regretted the most in the last weeks of their lives
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