Life is amazing and multifaceted. And oddly enough, death too. Dying is actually far from being so simple, not all at once, and has not yet been fully studied. So, one of the transitional stages between life and death is the state of clinical death. This stage is reversible, that is, after it you can return to normal life. The stories of the returnees are surprising and a little frightening, although neuroscientists have long found an explanation for them. What scientists have found out, and whether to believe those who have returned from the other world, read in this article.
- The state of clinical death from the point of view of medicine
- There is no light, not even a tunnel: 6 myths about clinical death
- Life after death or non-existence: what proves experience of resuscitators
The state of clinical death from the point of view of medicine
The list of terminal (close to death) states includes the state of clinical death. The heart stops, the person stops breathing and the brain does not receive oxygen. However, due to the reserves of necessary substances accumulated in the cells, irreversible processes in the brain tissues do not occur. If resuscitation was successful, the person returns to life.
The state of clinical death does not last very long, it is not a coma in which you can stay for years. Under normal conditions, this state lasts 3–5 minutes; in intensive care, clinical death can last up to an hour (the longest lasted 50 minutes).
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In any case, without medical assistance, a person cannot “return” on his own. And even doctors cannot always help, and the first stage of dying ends, but it is not final either. There is a second stage - biological death. All processes in tissues and organs stop, but the brain retains informational memory, i.e. the personality still exists. So far, no way has been found to resuscitate people at this stage, but the development of neuroscience gives hope for success in this area.
There is no light, not even a tunnel: 6 myths about clinical death
People who have experienced clinical death talk about their feelings, and surprisingly, their stories coincide in many details. For a long time, this was considered proof that something is “out there”: the afterlife, heaven or hell, parallel universes. We will tell you how experts actually explain such sensations.
Where does the feeling of flying come from?
Many believe that it is the soul that leaves the mortal world, while in fact the brain simply cannot receive a signal from the vestibular apparatus about the position of the body. There is a feeling of weightlessness, disorientation in space, which many interpret as flight.
Why can a person watch his body from the side?
Another "mind game" associated with disorientation in space and oxygen starvation. The last pictures that have managed to be fixed by the retina of the eye are processed by the brain already in an unconscious state, which gives rise to such an effect.
The main myth of clinical death is the tunnel!
To find yourself in an endless tunnel is a feeling so widespread that it has already become synonymous with the very concept of death. The part of the brain that interprets visual signals, under conditions of hypoxia, perceives only the image that has fallen on the center of the retina. The lack of a peripheral view creates the appearance of a tunnel. The same state, by the way, is also experienced by pilots (cosmonauts, racers) under conditions of strong overloads, when blood drains from the brain.
And where does the bright light come from in the tunnel?
When the anterior cortex no longer receives signals from the visual center, the occipital lobes maintain a picture of solid illumination, a bright spot of light that is approaching. So it turns out that first a person allegedly gets into the tunnel, and then he sees a bright light.
What do scientists think about "meeting the dead"?
This is the most ambiguous phenomenon. Why only with the dead? Where are these pictures from? Neuroscientists believe that the parts of the brain that interpret auditory signals are the ones that work the longest. Therefore, a person hears voices around, but in a state of hypoxia, the brain "imposes" these voices on memories of loved ones and draws such a meeting. Another version says that these are hallucinations similar to the visions of drug addicts.
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Why do people feel peace and tranquility?
Many who have experienced clinical death remember the moment when they felt peaceful and euphoric. According to some scientists, this is due to the release of endorphins, with which the brain “protects itself” from pain shock. There is also a version that this is simply the effect of psychotropic drugs used in resuscitation.
Obviously, most of all visions are associated with oxygen starvation of the brain and the gradual cessation of blood supply in its different lobes. People who periodically experience a lack of oxygen (divers, climbers) describe similar sensations. Agonizing, the brain works in emergency mode. Chaotic neural impulses and give rise to a variety of hallucinations, which then become the basis for stories about the afterlife. life and otherworldly phenomena.
Life after death or non-existence: what the experience of resuscitators proves
All the sensations described above occur before the actual cessation of brain activity. That is, it cannot be argued that a person saw / heard something, being already in an inanimate state. Moreover, only 10% of people who survived the state of clinical death were able to coherently and confidently describe their feelings. The rest don't remember anything.
If the human brain continues to function, albeit partially, it can no longer be called death . This means that the experience of such patients cannot be interpreted as stories about what happens after it. Moreover, their feelings are in many ways similar to the feelings of people who have survived a coma or poisoning with toxic substances, as well as with the visions of the mentally ill.
The algorithms of the brain in extreme situations are only being studied, but it can already be said for sure that most of all "otherworldly" visions have a rational justification.
And the longer scientists study the activity of the human brain, the less mysteries remain. A person dies when his brain dies, and no one has yet managed to make this process reversible. The state of clinical death is still more about life, not about death. And therefore, it is not worth considering the stories of the "returned" as something more than colorful visions.
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