Human Brains May Still Work in the Afterlife

STATES CHRONICLE – Scientists argue that human brains may still function in the afterlife. If you were wondering where your thoughts go when you die, researchers indicate that they may stay put because your brain may still work. Some Canadian scientists decided to study the brains of recently dead patients. Thus, they found out that their brain activity does not stop at the same time as their heart stops.

Doctors unveiled that one of their patients who was declared clinically dead had his or her brain still active for over ten minutes. The activity of the brain looked similar to the one of a deep sleep. Nevertheless, the study brings new data which makes a change in all that was previously known. They developed an analysis on decapitated rats.

These animals indicated a massive surge of brain activity in the minute after they were dead. However, new research conducted by researchers at the University of Western Ontario showed that the brain activity of humans after they die is a lot more complex. The study compared the analysis in four terminally ill patients who were taken off life support.

Each of these four patients experienced different levels of brain activity in the last minutes before they died and a few minutes after that. Some of these patients even stopped thinking before they died. Nevertheless, one of the four patients had experienced a surge of brain activity in the moments before he or she died which continued a few minutes after the person died.

Researchers were amazed by this discovery. The study indicated that the period of brain activity lasted approximately 10 minutes and 38 seconds after the patient was declared to be dead. Even if this is a considered only a sample, it is enough to draw scientists attention to further investigate the brain activity after the death of a person, underlining the ethics which lie at the foundation of organ donation.

Researchers also suggested that the rush in brain activity before death could also indicate to that person that the end is near. For organ donation, death is defined as the absence of brain waves. Nevertheless, technology, like medication and ventilators can keep the blood pressure constant, and the heart is beating just fine for long periods. This is often considered a challenge for family members who need to make decisions about life support.

Image source: pixabay