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Donya Derakshani, Colette Felton, Leah Frank, Suad Ibrahim

Neural Activity During Clinical Death

In “Surge of neurophysiological coherence and connectivity in the dying brain”,

Borjigin and her research team measure and examine neural activities associated with

consciousness following cardiac arrest. Specifically, their research compares brain activity after

cardiac arrest to neural activity during waking and anesthesia. Although it is commonly believed

that the brain shows minimal activity following cardiac arrest, the researchers hypothesized

otherwise.

The researchers considered increases in gamma power, global coherence, and

connectivity between different areas of the brain as indicators of conscious activity. The

researchers used electroencephalograms (EEG) that detect electrical activity in the brain to

collect data about these types of brain activity. To study the near-death stage, the researchers

induced cardiac arrest in the rats. They divided cardiac arrest into four stages based on the

distinct states of brain activity, with the main emphasis on cardiac arrest stage 3 (CAS3).

In CAS3, global coherence within the different lobes of the brain, characterized by

synchronized EEG signals (gamma oscillations), was higher than in waking, under anesthesia, or

during any of the other stages of cardiac arrest. This data convinced the researchers that the brain

is highly synchronized during CAS3, implying consciousness in the near-death state. The

connectivity from the occipital and parietal parts of the brain to the frontal area during the CAS3

phase also suggested high cognitive processing following cardiac arrest. The connectivity levels

during CAS3 were almost equal to those during waking, and much greater than the levels during

the anesthesia state. Furthermore, even though most band frequencies decreased, the researchers

emphasize the notable increase in low-gamma frequency power during CAS3. The researchers
used these data to conclude that the mammalian brain experiences a level of consciousness

following cardiac arrest comparable to when the mammal is awake.

Although the majority of the data presented supports the researchers’ hypothesis, there

are some questions of validity to be considered. The discussed increases in brain activity

observed during CAS3 only occurred on low-gamma frequencies. Low-gamma frequencies make

up only a small fraction of brain waves. There was a decrease on all other frequencies during

CAS3, but this was not sufficiently addressed in the article. In addition, the researchers focused

much of the discussion on the evidence from the CAS3 stage of cardiac arrest, instead of

thoroughly analyzing the brain activity from all four stages (CAS1-CAS4). It is also worth

noting the experiment’s small sample size; only nine rats were tested. The lack of a large sample

size makes the drawn conclusions much more questionable. Certainly, the data showed brain

activity in the short period following cardiac arrest, but it is uncertain if the researchers

succeeded in proving heightened consciousness during this time.

The article also mentions reported incidents of cardiac arrest survivors describing vivid

and “realer than real” experiences while in the near-death state. The researchers attempt to

extend their results of intensified consciousness in the near-death state in rats to explain this

unusual human experience. However, they have no evidence that allows them to assume that

these lucid visions are caused by the same neural activity observed in the rats. Even though the

article may not fully explain near-death experiences in humans, it starts an important

conversation about the brain’s activity following clinical death. It challenges previous beliefs

associated with death, and hopefully encourages future studies and conversations regarding the

dying brain.

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