Another Explanation for Near Death Experiences

[stromboli]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... sions.html

A mysterious surge of brain activity may explain reports of near-death-experiences, researchers claim.
Even after their hearts stopped beating and no blood was reaching their brains, rats appeared to show signs of conscious perception, said the scientists.
The study is the first to take a detailed look at the state of the dying brain after a cardiac arrest.

It suggests something happens at the brink of death that pushes the conscious brain to a high level of arousal, potentially triggering the visions and sensations associated with near-death experiences (NDEs).
As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.

Scientists map visual neurons from a mouse and a fruit fly giving fascinating glimpse into the workings of the brain
Copy a human? I can do that with my eyes closed! Blindfolded dolphin mimics trainer's movements by using sound waves to 'see' what he is doing
Typically NDEs involve travelling through a tunnel towards an intense light, being separated from the body, encountering long-departed loved ones or angels and undergoing some kind of judgment of 'life review.
Some emerge from NDEs as transformed individuals with a completely altered outlook on life, or a new belief in religion.
But many scientists believe near-death-experiences are nothing more than hallucinations induced by the effect of the brain shutting down.

The new research involved recording the electrical nerve impulses of anaesthetised rats whose hearts were artificially stopped.
Within 30 seconds after suffering a cardiac arrest, all the animals displayed a short-lived surge of widespread, highly synchronised brain activity.
'We were surprised by the high levels of activity,' said Dr George Mashour, one of the US researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
'In fact, at near-death many known electrical signatures of consciousness exceeded levels found in the waking state, suggesting that the brain is capable of well-organised electrical activity during the early stage of clinical death.'

[Farroc]

Copy a human? I can do that with my eyes closed! Blindfolded dolphin mimics trainer's movements by using sound waves to 'see' what he is doing

That neurosurgeon who published that religious NDE book is gonna be pissed.

[SGOS]

Well, Duh??  After the heart stops, it's going take a little while for the brain to quit.  People like the idea of being declared officially dead and then coming back with an exciting tale.  But just because your heart stops for a short time, doesn't really mean you are dead.  You will be of course in a short while, but every organ doesn't shut down at the exact moment of the last heart beat.  If the heart starts up again, away you go with another few years of believing silly things and doing stupid stuff.  You might even write a book.   :-D

[stromboli]

I post this shit because I was in a coma once for four (4) fucking days and nothing, nada, squat. I feel so cheated.  :(

[LikelyToBreak]

When I was 16, I had a really intense dream of dying.  I saw the white light, then it faded where everything was like brown mud.  I seemed to be sinking into the mud for a while, then I stopped.  By this time everything was black.  Then I started to hear a heartbeat and I began to see a dark red turning to orange as the heartbeat became stronger.  This dream sounded like many of the NDE's I have read about.  At least the beginning.

NDE's have been an interest of mine since.  I now know that I suffer from sleep apnea.  Maybe I too had a NDE.  Only, not accepting the Christian tale at the time, I imagined a Hindu or Buddhist tale.  Don't know why I dreamed what I dreamed for sure, but it was really intense.  I had trouble getting to sleep for weeks afterward.

Anyway, thanks for posting this stromboli.  :-D

[SGOS]

I post this shit because I was in a coma once for four (4) fucking days and nothing, nada, squat. I feel so cheated.  :(

Bummer. :(

[Colanth]

Well, Duh??  After the heart stops, it's going take a little while for the brain to quit.

Which causes the brain to suffer anoxia, hypercadia and a few other things, which cause the random firing of neurons - there's no inhibitory function.  Anoxia, hypercarbia, etc. have been theorized to be the cause for a long time.  There's nothing new here.  We're not really going to know until we're able to "read" the thoughts in a brain - which may never be possible because thought may turn out to be a one-way function.

[SGOS]

Well, Duh??  After the heart stops, it's going take a little while for the brain to quit.

Which causes the brain to suffer anoxia, hypercadia and a few other things, which cause the random firing of neurons - there's no inhibitory function.  Anoxia, hypercarbia, etc. have been theorized to be the cause for a long time.  There's nothing new here.  We're not really going to know until we're able to "read" the thoughts in a brain - which may never be possible because thought may turn out to be a one-way function.

Right.  The brain doesn't quit all at once.  The deprivation of oxygen causes it to function at a lower and lower level.  What these people are experiencing are the symptoms of a brain that is misfiring.  Why they would want to take the experience and interpret it any other way is mysterious.  Well, not really.  They are predisposed to wanting it to mean something profoundly insightful, as if the brain were functioning at some higher level.  I wouldn't place too much credibility on something my brain was telling me while it was not functioning properly.  :-D