Want to hear something unbelievable? Here’s one for science fiction! A Study found that a full 10 minutes after clinical death, the brain still showed activity in one particular human being. The study was published in The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences and led by researchers from the University of Western Ontario.
Examining an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording of four patients, researchers found the same results on brain activity. These four patients lost brain activity before clinical death. Since the EEG registers the flat line or negative heart activity, the tests were conclusive, as they patients were in fact dead.
Brain activity detected
As for that one particular patient, the brain activity that was spotted consisted of a burst of delta waves which are present usually during a deep sleep. After all circulation was stopped, this patient had one more “living” moment.
What this means is uncertain. It could pose problems, however, for organ donations and the ethical questions involved, considering death is reported when the heart stops pumping blood. It can also pose even more questions pertaining to life after death.
But don’t get ahead of yourself just yet. This is only an isolated study of patients who were already highly sedated during the dying process.
Only recently did reports surface of a study which found 1,000 genes still functioning days after death. Another example that we don’t know as much as we think we did. Science will continue in these studies and we will continue to be baffled why what they find.
