Evidence of conscious-like activity in the dying brain
A small study finds intriguing brain wave patterns in comatose patients
who died following cardiac arrest

Date:
May 1, 2023
Source:
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Summary:
A new study provides early evidence of a surge of activity
correlated with consciousness in the dying brain.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Reports of near-death experiences -- with tales of white light, visits
from departed loved ones, hearing voices, among other attributes --
capture our imagination and are deeply engrained in our cultural
landscape.

The fact that these reports share so many common elements begs the
question of whether there is something fundamentally real underpinning
them -- and that those who have managed to survive death are providing
glimpses of a consciousness that does not completely disappear, even
after the heart stops beating.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science, provides early evidence of a surge of activity correlated with consciousness in the dying brain.

The study, led by Jimo Borjigin, Ph.D., associate professor in the
Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Department
of Neurology, and her team is a follow-up to animal studies conducted
almost ten years ago in collaboration with George Mashour, M.D., Ph.D.,
the founding director of the Michigan Center for Consciousness Science.

Similar signatures of gamma activation were recorded in the dying brains
of both animals and humans upon a loss of oxygen following cardiac arrest.

"How vivid experience can emerge from a dysfunctional brain during the
process of dying is a neuroscientific paradox. Dr. Borjigin has led an important study that helps shed light on the underlying neurophysiologic mechanisms," said Mashour.

The team identified four patients who passed away due to cardiac arrest
in the hospital while under EEG monitoring. All four of the patients
were comatose and unresponsive. They were ultimately determined to be
beyond medical help and, with their families' permission, removed from
life support.

Upon removal of ventilator support, two of the patients showed an increase
in heart rate along with a surge of gamma wave activity, considered the
fastest brain activity and associated with consciousness.

Furthermore, the activity was detected in the so-called hot zone of
neural correlates of consciousness in the brain, the junction between
the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes in the back of the brain. This
area has been correlated with dreaming, visual hallucinations in epilepsy,
and altered states of consciousness in other brain studies.

These two patients had previous reports of seizures, but no seizures
during the hour before their deaths, explained Nusha Mihaylova, M.D.,
Ph.D., a clinical associate professor in the Department of Neurology who
has collaborated with Dr. Borjigin since 2015 by collecting EEG data
from deceased patients under ICU care. The other two patients did not
display the same increase in heartrate upon removal from life support
nor did they have increased brain activity.

Because of the small sample size, the authors caution against making any
global statements about the implications of the findings. They also note
that it's impossible to know in this study what the patients experienced because they did not survive.

"We are unable to make correlations of the observed neural signatures of consciousness with a corresponding experience in the same patients in
this study. However, the observed findings are definitely exciting and
provide a new framework for our understanding of covert consciousness
in the dying humans," she said.

Larger, multi-center studies including EEG-monitored ICU patients who
survive cardiac arrest, could provide much needed data to determine
whether or not these bursts in gamma activity are evidence of hidden consciousness even near death.

Additional authors on this paper include Gang Xu, Duan Li, Fangyun Tian,
Peter M. Farrehi, Jack M. Parent and Michael Wang.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Mind_&_Brain
# Brain-Computer_Interfaces # Spirituality # Intelligence
# Brain_Injury # Neuroscience # Dementia # Psychology #
Disorders_and_Syndromes
* RELATED_TERMS
o Psychology o Traumatic_brain_injury o Amygdala o Bruxism o
Confirmation_bias o Psychoactive_drug o Functional_neuroimaging
o Seizure

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Michigan_Medicine_-_University_of_Michigan. Original written by Kelly
Malcom. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Gang Xu, Temenuzhka Mihaylova, Duan Li, Fangyun Tian, Peter
M. Farrehi,
Jack M. Parent, George A. Mashour, Michael M. Wang, Jimo
Borjigin. Surge of neurophysiological coupling and connectivity
of gamma oscillations in the dying human brain. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023; 120 (19) DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2216268120 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230501163628.htm

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