Southampton University scientists have found evidence that awareness can continue for at least sever
18 replies, posted
[QUOTE]
Death is a depressingly inevitable consequence of life, but now scientists believe they may have found some light at the end of the tunnel.
The largest ever medical study into near-death and out-of-body experiences has discovered that some awareness may continue even after the brain has shut down completely.
It is a controversial subject which has, until recently, been treated with widespread scepticism.
But scientists at the University of Southampton have spent four years examining more than 2,000 people who suffered cardiac arrests at 15 hospitals in the UK, US and Austria.
And they found that nearly 40 per cent of people who survived described some kind of ‘awareness’ during the time when they were clinically dead before their hearts were restarted.
One man even recalled leaving his body entirely and watching his resuscitation from the corner of the room.
Despite being unconscious and ‘dead’ for three minutes, the 57-year-old social worker from Southampton, recounted the actions of the nursing staff in detail and described the sound of the machines.
“We know the brain can’t function when the heart has stopped beating,” said Dr Sam Parnia, a former research fellow at Southampton University, now at the State University of New York, who led the study.
[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/11144442/First-hint-of-life-after-death-in-biggest-ever-scientific-study.html[/url]
The original title is extremely sensationalist, but it's still interesting none the less. I guess it makes sense considering DMT is secreted upon death, and it can induce extreme out of body experiences.
Can't wait to be a ghost and walk around without anyone seeing me
Isn't this entire study based on cardiac arrest, and thus not when brain death actually occurs.
Cause I've seen this thing so many times now and it's really pissing me off.
[editline]8th October 2014[/editline]
[quote]The largest ever medical study into near-death and out-of-body experiences has discovered that [B]some awareness may continue even after the brain has shut down completely.[/B]
It is a controversial subject which has, until recently, been treated with widespread scepticism.
But scientists at the University of Southampton have spent four years examining more than 2,000 people who suffered [highlight]cardiac arrests[/highlight] at 15 hospitals in the UK, US and Austria.[/quote]
Shocker.
[QUOTE=bravehat;46186093]Isn't this entire study based on cardiac arrest, and thus not when brain death actually occurs.
Cause I've seen this thing so many times now and it's really pissing me off.[/QUOTE]
In the article it says that the brain ceases to function around 90 seconds after the heart stops, while awareness can continue for minutes after it stops.
[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;46186102]In the article it says that the brain ceases to function around 90 seconds after the heart stops, while awareness can continue for minutes after it stops.[/QUOTE]
I'm calling absolute shenanigans on this, I'll wait for it actually get verified.
We don't really understand the Brain well enough to have a good idea of what "no brain function" actually is and it's silly just to jump to the conclusion that because we can't explain it, the implication is that it must be supernatural.
Anyway this study is about whether or not people [I]recall[/I] an awareness during that period, they can't directly test if you're aware. It could just as likely be that all this is is memory fuckery when the brain shuts down
So you kinda get a chance to say goodbye if a person dies from a heart attack...
Well if awareness hasn't stopped, then I guess they're using a stupid definition of death. Way sensationalist piece here.
Wouldn't this be the same conclusion that guy came to back when he said people were still aware when their heads were cut off?
Looks sensational as all hell and will probably be ruled bullshit sooner rather than later.
Still, the idea of the consciousness somehow existing beyond the brain and body for real is nice, even if it turns out to be scientific (quantum/interdimensional/whatever weirdness) rather than religious in nature.
[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;46186102]In the article it says that the brain ceases to function around 90 seconds after the heart stops, while awareness can continue for minutes after it stops.[/QUOTE]
Inaccurate statement on the articles part (the article says 20-30 seconds) the brain is unable to keep you consciousness 20-30 seconds after it stops receiving blood. Actual brain death and permanent damage doesn't occur until a few minutes after this. This is why we're able to do things like CPR and have people "come back".
[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;46186609]-wikapedia
no shit that the brain would still be aware. It still has some fuel left after the heart stops beating.[/QUOTE]
The article is talking about awareness after this period.
[quote=wikipedia]At the onset of clinical death, consciousness is lost within several seconds. Measurable brain activity stops within 20 to 40 seconds.[/quote]
[qupte=article]Despite being unconscious and ‘dead’ for three minutes, the 57-year-old social worker from Southampton, recounted the actions of the nursing staff in detail and described the sound of the machines.[/quote]
[editline]8th October 2014[/editline]
edit is broken so I cba to fix the broken quote
[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;46186058] I guess it makes sense considering DMT is secreted upon death, and it can induce extreme out of body experiences.[/QUOTE]
That's not a scientific fact, it's just speculation by Dr. Rick Strassman.
[editline]8th October 2014[/editline]
Ketamine experiences are much closer to NDEs than DMT experiences and have led to better explanations of the mechanism of an NDE.
[url]http://www.lycaeum.org/leda/Documents/Using_Ketamine_to_Induce_the_Near-Death_Experience.9260.shtml[/url]
Basically, under conditions where the brain is in danger (low oxygen, low blood, etc.), glutamate floods the brain and over excites NMDA receptors, killing brain cells. It seems the brain has a protective measure of releasing ketamine-like chemicals (and not DMT), which bind to NMDA receptors and protects brain cells from dying.
[quote]He hopes the latest research will encourage new studies into the controversial topic.[/quote]
This needs to happen. Not investigating this phenomenon more to understand it and just writing it off is stupid.
[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;46186102]In the article it says that the brain ceases to function around 90 seconds after the heart stops, while awareness can continue for minutes after it stops.[/QUOTE]
The brain can survive for around 4 minutes after the heart stops. Brain oxygenation isn't binary, some areas use more than others depending on the activity, and the remainder of the oxygen in the blood in the cranial arteries will diffuse within a certain radius through the already oxygenated tissue to where it is needed.
Not only that but neurons also store a small amount of energy to use for when this type of a scenario arrises.
So what patients experience when they go into cardiac arrest is the brain burning up all the remainder of it's energy stores and deactivating circuits that are no longer useful to survival (ie dropping out of consciousness incase lack of O2 is from lack of breathing). While not-conscious your memories are influenced by whatever your subconscious needs to process, and in many cases it becomes a senseless dreamlike state. On top of that, your brain is literally salvaging itself to keep itself alive. All of that will obviously contribute to a fucked up experience if you all of a sudden are brought back mid death
My uncle's heart stopped during a surgery, and he said that what had happened to him during that time was that he was awake in a room full of lobsters.
He doesn't even like lobsters.
Basically when I'm on my deathbed I'm going to repent to Great Cthulhu.
I'a Cthulhu!
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