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Evidence of conscious-like activity in the dying brain

A small study finds intriguing brain wave patterns in comatose patients who died fol-
lowing 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 mech-
anisms," said Mashour.
The team identified four patients who passed away due to cardiac arrest in the hospital while under EEG moni-
toring. 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, ex-
plained 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 implica-
tions of the findings. They also note that it's impossible to know in this study what the patients experienced be-
cause 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 con-
sciousness even near death.

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

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

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Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan. "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." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 1 May 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230501163628.htm>.
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