MSGID: 1:317/3 645091ef   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Evidence of conscious-like activity in the dying brain    
    A small study finds intriguing brain wave patterns in comatose patients   
   who died following cardiac arrest    
      
     Date:   
         May 1, 2023   
     Source:   
         Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan   
     Summary:   
         A new study provides early evidence of a surge of activity   
         correlated with consciousness in the dying brain.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Reports of near-death experiences -- with tales of white light, visits   
   from departed loved ones, hearing voices, among other attributes --   
   capture our imagination and are deeply engrained in our cultural   
   landscape.   
      
   The fact that these reports share so many common elements begs the   
   question of whether there is something fundamentally real underpinning   
   them -- and that those who have managed to survive death are providing   
   glimpses of a consciousness that does not completely disappear, even   
   after the heart stops beating.   
      
   A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of   
   Science, provides early evidence of a surge of activity correlated with   
   consciousness in the dying brain.   
      
   The study, led by Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., associate professor in the   
   Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Department   
   of Neurology, and her team is a follow-up to animal studies conducted   
   almost ten years ago in collaboration with George Mashour, M.D., Ph.D.,   
   the founding director of the Michigan Center for Consciousness Science.   
      
   Similar signatures of gamma activation were recorded in the dying brains   
   of both animals and humans upon a loss of oxygen following cardiac arrest.   
      
   "How vivid experience can emerge from a dysfunctional brain during the   
   process of dying is a neuroscientific paradox. Dr. Borjigin has led an   
   important study that helps shed light on the underlying neurophysiologic   
   mechanisms," said Mashour.   
      
   The team identified four patients who passed away due to cardiac arrest   
   in the hospital while under EEG monitoring. All four of the patients   
   were comatose and unresponsive. They were ultimately determined to be   
   beyond medical help and, with their families' permission, removed from   
   life support.   
      
   Upon removal of ventilator support, two of the patients showed an increase   
   in heart rate along with a surge of gamma wave activity, considered the   
   fastest brain activity and associated with consciousness.   
      
   Furthermore, the activity was detected in the so-called hot zone of   
   neural correlates of consciousness in the brain, the junction between   
   the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes in the back of the brain. This   
   area has been correlated with dreaming, visual hallucinations in epilepsy,   
   and altered states of consciousness in other brain studies.   
      
   These two patients had previous reports of seizures, but no seizures   
   during the hour before their deaths, explained Nusha Mihaylova, M.D.,   
   Ph.D., a clinical associate professor in the Department of Neurology who   
   has collaborated with Dr. Borjigin since 2015 by collecting EEG data   
   from deceased patients under ICU care. The other two patients did not   
   display the same increase in heartrate upon removal from life support   
   nor did they have increased brain activity.   
      
   Because of the small sample size, the authors caution against making any   
   global statements about the implications of the findings. They also note   
   that it's impossible to know in this study what the patients experienced   
   because they did not survive.   
      
   "We are unable to make correlations of the observed neural signatures of   
   consciousness with a corresponding experience in the same patients in   
   this study. However, the observed findings are definitely exciting and   
   provide a new framework for our understanding of covert consciousness   
   in the dying humans," she said.   
      
   Larger, multi-center studies including EEG-monitored ICU patients who   
   survive cardiac arrest, could provide much needed data to determine   
   whether or not these bursts in gamma activity are evidence of hidden   
   consciousness even near death.   
      
   Additional authors on this paper include Gang Xu, Duan Li, Fangyun Tian,   
   Peter M. Farrehi, Jack M. Parent and Michael Wang.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Brain-Computer_Interfaces # Spirituality # Intelligence   
                   # Brain_Injury # Neuroscience # Dementia # Psychology #   
                   Disorders_and_Syndromes   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Psychology o Traumatic_brain_injury o Amygdala o Bruxism o   
             Confirmation_bias o Psychoactive_drug o Functional_neuroimaging   
             o Seizure   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Michigan_Medicine_-_University_of_Michigan. Original written by Kelly   
   Malcom. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Gang Xu, Temenuzhka Mihaylova, Duan Li, Fangyun Tian, Peter   
      M. Farrehi,   
         Jack M. Parent, George A. Mashour, Michael M. Wang, Jimo   
         Borjigin. Surge of neurophysiological coupling and connectivity   
         of gamma oscillations in the dying human brain. Proceedings   
         of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023; 120 (19) DOI:   
         10.1073/pnas.2216268120   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230501163628.htm   
      
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