Questions about what exactly happens to human consciousness at the time of clinical death have long puzzled scientists and doctors. Now a study has come out that explains this phenomenon to some extent. The authors of the study argue that the sensations experienced during the so-called death experiences are not hallucinations.
- A near-death experience (NDE) is the sensory experience experienced by a person who has almost died or was clinically dead.
- Among the experiences mentioned are, among others blinding light and all life passing before your eyes
- Many people in the world experience this phenomenon. Interestingly, its course looks very similar each time
- And these are not hallucinations, emphasize the authors of the study
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
The so-called the experience of death is a phenomenon that fascinates (and at the same time worries) not only patients, but also doctors of many specialties. There is no single explanation of the causes or a specific catalog of symptoms. “More tests are needed”, specialists repeat.
And the results of extensive research conducted by medics in many fields have just appeared. An article in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences is the first peer-reviewed publication on death research. It aims to “provide insight into potential mechanisms, ethical implications and methodological considerations for systematic research” and “identify problems and controversies” in the research area.
Death is different now than it used to be
“Being” irreversibly dead “depends on technology,” wrote Anders Sandberg, a research fellow at the Institute for the Future of Humanity, University of Oxford, in 2016.
«For many years the lack of breath and heart rate was considered a sign of death. This changed when CPR began. Today, victims of drowning who suffer from extreme hypothermia, lack of oxygen, heart rate and breath for several hours can be brought back to life — with luck and appropriate medical treatment, ”wrote Sandberg.
“Even the absence of a heart does not mean death if you are lying on the transplant surgeon’s table,” he emphasized.
Sandberg was not involved in the study, but it hit the nail on the head. Modern medicine has radically changed the way we think about death. And we still learn how little we know about this last stage of life.
- See also: Change to soap, squeaks and excretions. This is how our body behaves after death
“A cardiac arrest is not a heart attack,” said Sam Parnia, author of many years of research into the experience of death and lead author of the article. – It only represents the final stage of a disease or event that causes the death of a person. The advent of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has shown that death is not an absolute condition, but rather a process that can be reversed in some people, even after it has started, he adds.
In fact – as the researchers point out – there is a great deal of evidence showing that neither physiological nor cognitive processes stop at “the moment of death”. And while scientific research so far has not been able to prove the truth of the NDE, it also fails to disprove it.
Death Experience – What Does It Look Like?
There have been many registered cases of death experiences in various cultures around the world. It is noteworthy that they all followed a similar scenario.
First there is a sense of separation from the body and a heightened sense of awareness of impending death. Then there is a journey to a destination, followed by a realistic analysis of the actions, intentions and thoughts throughout life. The next step is the feeling of being in a place that feels like a “home”, and finally a return to the real world greeted with relief by the resuscitation team.
The authors of the study point out that there is no indication that the experience of death has anything to do with hallucinations, illusions or was the result of taking drugs or intoxicating substances. However, other studies show that people who die after experiencing death experience similar changes in mindfulness that occur after taking substances such as psilocybin in mushrooms.
What makes it possible to study the phenomenon of death is the fact that brain cells do not become irreversibly damaged within minutes of being deprived of oxygen by cardiac arrest. These cells die for hours. This allows scientists to reliably study the physiological and mental events occurring in connection with death, Parnia emphasizes.
- Also check: The doctor felt she was dying. Something unexpected happened
The scientist reminds that medicine provides many examples that this is happening. EEG studies show the activity of gamma waves and electrical impulses in the brain at the time of death. This phenomenon is associated with an increased state of consciousness, and perhaps related to the “heightened states of consciousness and the recognition of death” felt by people who feel they are near the end of their lives.
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Parnia hopes to know the answer one day. – Until now, there has been little research on what happens when we die. Our publication shows what awareness looks like in these people – he emphasizes.
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