Throughout the history of humanity, many civilizations and societies have asked various questions about death, its causes, what happens when we are dying and if there is life beyond our death. Surely you have heard paranormal stories from friends or acquaintances who have had near-death experiences, it is true that it causes a lot of intrigue, because although it is more than a natural process, being sensible, not all of us are prepared to be able to face or experience it. .
Among these questions, a very popular one is: What happens in the brain when we are dying? No important neuro scientist has been given the task of carrying out initial studies and today we share her results and experiences with you, so pay close attention and learn something new.
What happens in the brain when we are about to die?
The neuroscientist Jimo Borjigin has dedicated her career to unraveling the mysteries of the dying brain, an unexplored area that has led her to challenge previous assumptions about death.
He has found an unexpected twist, because in his research with rats, Borjigin observed intense brain activity, including a significant increase in neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, just after the animals’ hearts stopped. Beyond the cardiac arrest, the scientist and her team did not stop at the rats. In a later study of comatose humans, they recorded similar brain activity in two of the four patients just as they were taken off life support.
Revealing brain waves
Brain areas that were activated during these final moments included the posterior cortical hot zone, associated with sensory perception, consciousness, dreams, and hallucinations; Wernicke’s area, linked to language, speaking and listening; and the right temporoparietal junction, related to empathy.
But could this be considered a survival mechanism? Borjigin suggests that this increase in brain activity could be a survival mechanism of the brain in the face of oxygen deprivation, similar to hibernation in animals.
Rethinking death
Borjigin’s findings challenge the current definition of death, which is based primarily on the absence of a heartbeat and external signs of response. This represents an iceberg of knowledge, the researcher considers that what has been discovered so far is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the dying brain. There are many unresolved questions, as we can see, there are still many questions to be answered, such as why the dying brain experiences such intense activity and whether this could lead to premature diagnoses of death.
Borjigin calls on the scientific community to further research the dying brain, in order to better understand this fundamental process and its implications for life and death.
As you could see, the process of death is not something simple or easy to analyze, it is a very complex mixture of reactions and we still have a long way to go to study it in humans.
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