Major study shows mind still works after the body shows no signs of life.

[Deleted]

Death just became even more scary: scientists say people are aware they’re dead*because their consciousness continues to work after the body has stopped showing signs of life.

That means that, theoretically, someone may even hear their own death being announced by medics.

The claim was made by Dr Sam Parnia, director of critical care and resuscitation research at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York City.


He and his team are looking at people who suffered cardiac arrest, technically died, but were later revived. It’s the largest study of its type ever carried out.

Some of those studied*say they had awareness of full conversations and seeing things that were going on around them, even after they were pronounced dead.
These accounts were then verified by the medical and nursing staff who were present at the time.
Death is defined as the point at which the heart no longer beats, and blood flow to the brain is cut off.


Dr Sam Parnia said: “Technically, that's how you get the time of death – it's all based on the moment when the heart stops.

“Once that happens, blood no longer circulates to the brain, which means brain function halts almost instantaneously.

“You lose all your brain stem reflexes – your gag reflex, your pupil reflex, all that is gone.”

However, there’s evidence to suggest that there’s a burst of brain energy as someone dies.

In 2013 researchers at the University of Michigan looked at the electrical signals inside the brains of nine anaesthetised rats having an induced heart attack.

They saw activity patterns which are linked to a “hyper-alerted state” in the brief period after clinical death.

Dr Parnia said: "In the same way that a group of researchers might be studying the qualitative nature of the human experience of 'love',*for instance, we're trying to understand the exact features that people experience when they go through death, because we understand that this is going to reflect the universal experience we're all going to have when we die."

[ParanoiD84]

Would be sweet if we continued dreaming after death, atleast it would not be a blank.

[Elim Garak]

Would be sweet if we continued dreaming after death, atleast it would not be a blank.

Not in your afterlifetime. It will go blank, jsut not instanteneously, you will FADE AWAY. It's obvious a brain doesn't just shut off when heart stops, boo hoo, what a discovery.

[ParanoiD84]

Not in your afterlifetime. It will go blank, jsut not instanteneously, you will FADE AWAY. It's obvious a brain doesn't just shut off when heart stops, boo hoo, what a discovery.

Hehe true takes a while for the brain to register death, though that's what scares me the most that everything just goes blank, no thinking nothing. Guess it will be like before we where born also blank, damn

[LiiLoSNK]

This sounds SUPER REAL.

[I Push Buttons]

Hehe true takes a while for the brain to register death, though that's what scares me the most that everything just goes blank, no thinking nothing. Guess it will be like before we where born also blank, damn

If it makes you feel any better, this article mentions the word "technically" a lot.

Well energy can't be created or destroyed and our consciousnesses are just a collection of electrical signals firing between neurons...

So "technically" when you die the energy that makes up your being is still floating around out there in one form or another.

[ParanoiD84]

If it makes you feel any better, this article mentions the word "technically" a lot.

Well energy can't be created or destroyed and our consciousnesses are just a collection of electrical signals firing between neurons...

So "technically" when you die the energy that makes up your being is still floating around out there in one form or another.

It does make me feel abit better, hope is all i need lol.

[Katie N]

If true that is very scary.

[Deleted]

Hehe true takes a while for the brain to register death, though that's what scares me the most that everything just goes blank, no thinking nothing. Guess it will be like before we where born also blank, damn

But in the process of the brain dying of after your heart has stopped I would prefer to go blank instead of being conscious.

- - - Updated - - -

If true that is very scary.

Absolutely!

[namecraft]

it's not that scary, whatever happens, happens. there is no changing that.

[Elim Garak]

Hehe true takes a while for the brain to register death, though that's what scares me the most that everything just goes blank, no thinking nothing. Guess it will be like before we where born also blank, damn

If you have ever experienced black outs (say, total anaesthetics during a surgery) - you have already experienced death. It's no biggy. In real death you just never come to.

[ParanoiD84]

If you have ever experienced black outs (say, total anaesthetics during a surgery) - you have already experienced death. It's no biggy. In real death you just never come to.

I have not experienced that yet, though i guess i will at some part of my life.

[Kaleredar]

So "technically" when you die the energy that makes up your being is still floating around out there in one form or another.

Is that that same touchy-feely humanist sentiment of "we're all made of the stuff of stars!"

Well so are earwigs and pocket lint. Big whoop.


Anywho, this isn't really that shocking... No reason to believe the brain would immediately lose all responsiveness. Especially when it's known that people can be "brought back to life" after their heart has stopped.

At any rate, maybe you can make some sort of peace in those last few seconds.

Or cling despairingly to a rapidly closing void wishing against all hope you could have carved out one second more.

Who knows. That's on the person.

[Charge me Doctor]

Your conscience is tied to a piece of fat floating in a box with liquid. Everything else is irrelevant for some time, then you'll run out of juice and die. I'm surprised that it's not a common knowledge

[gushDH]

I like how everyone suddenly became a Phd neurologist or something and know exactly how the brain works "yea doh, isn't it obvious?".

It's a nice discovery, might eventually change how we handle technically dead people. Maybe one day they will be able to show what the "dead" person wants to say, and let them spend their actual final moments with some chat or whatever.

[Elim Garak]

I like how everyone suddenly became a Phd neurologist or something and know exactly how the brain works "yea doh, isn't it obvious?".

It's a nice discovery, might eventually change how we handle technically dead people. Maybe one day they will be able to show what the "dead" person wants to say, and let them spend their actual final moments with some chat or whatever.

Anyone who is a who fan knows what clinically dead people think. Three. Fucking. Words.

[Deleted]

Death just became even more scary: scientists say people are aware they’re dead*because their consciousness continues to work after the body has stopped showing signs of life.

That means that, theoretically, someone may even hear their own death being announced by medics.

The claim was made by Dr Sam Parnia, director of critical care and resuscitation research at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York City.


He and his team are looking at people who suffered cardiac arrest, technically died, but were later revived. It’s the largest study of its type ever carried out.

Some of those studied*say they had awareness of full conversations and seeing things that were going on around them, even after they were pronounced dead.
These accounts were then verified by the medical and nursing staff who were present at the time.
Death is defined as the point at which the heart no longer beats, and blood flow to the brain is cut off.


Dr Sam Parnia said: “Technically, that's how you get the time of death – it's all based on the moment when the heart stops.

“Once that happens, blood no longer circulates to the brain, which means brain function halts almost instantaneously.

“You lose all your brain stem reflexes – your gag reflex, your pupil reflex, all that is gone.”

However, there’s evidence to suggest that there’s a burst of brain energy as someone dies.

In 2013 researchers at the University of Michigan looked at the electrical signals inside the brains of nine anaesthetised rats having an induced heart attack.

They saw activity patterns which are linked to a “hyper-alerted state” in the brief period after clinical death.

Dr Parnia said: "In the same way that a group of researchers might be studying the qualitative nature of the human experience of 'love',*for instance, we're trying to understand the exact features that people experience when they go through death, because we understand that this is going to reflect the universal experience we're all going to have when we die."

You forgot to link the source. It’s an important bit. Because this seems a tad unreliable and sketchy.

[Slant]

Anyone who is a who fan knows what clinically dead people think. Three. Fucking. Words.

For the life of me, the only three words that make sense that I can think of are... "I want brainsssssss!"

What did you mean?

[Captain N]

So the exact opposite of what happens around here -- the body continues typing out gibberish after the mind stops working.

[Deleted]

Well so are earwigs and pocket lint. Big whoop.

What have you got against earwigs?