Near-death Experiences "Explained"

The surge of electrical activity in the brain could be responsible for the vivid experiences described by near-death survivors, scientists report. A study carried out on dying rats found high levels of brainwaves at the point of the animals' demise. US researchers said that in humans this could give rise to a heightened state of consciousness. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . From bright white lights to out-of-body sensations and feelings of life flashing before their eyes, the experiences reported by people who have come close to death but survived are common the world over. However, studying this in humans is a challenge, and these visions are little understood. To find out more, scientists at the University of Michigan monitored nine rats as they were dying. In the 30-second period after the animal's hearts stopped beating, they measured a sharp increase in high-frequency brainwaves called gamma oscillations. These pulses are one of the neuronal features that are thought to underpin consciousness in humans, especially when they help to "link" information from different parts of the brain. In the rats, these electrical pulses were found at even higher levels just after the cardiac arrest than when animals were awake and well. "[But] we should be extremely cautious before drawing any conclusions about human near-death experiences: it is one thing to measure brain activity in rats during cardiac arrest, and quite another to relate that to human experience." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23672150

Re: Near-death Experiences "Explained" by Andyblaze(m): 5:38pm On Aug 13