Neuroscience/Brain Science

How long can the brain process information after it has been severed? Is it possible that we see our lives flash before our eyes? How long does it take for consciousness to be lost after a catastrophic injury?

A Bangor University professor examines the questions in a new piece for The Conversation. When he was 15 years old, he learned about the use of the Guillotine during the French revolution.

Six minutes after the heart stops, the brain essentially dies.

Neural activity stops less than a minute after consciousness is lost in lab experiments.

People have reported having their lives flash before their eyes.

It could be hours before the brain shuts down completely if humans can be resuscitated after six, seven, eight or even ten minutes in extreme cases.

It is extremely difficult to record and study the brain activity of a dying person. A recent study aimed to record the brain waves of an elderly patient. The patient died of a heart attack during the study.

The brain waves changed after the patient died, according to the findings. There is still a chance that we can see our lives flashing before our eyes.

The researchers only reported on brain activity recorded over a period of about 15 minutes, including a few minutes after death, which means we still don't know what happens after that point.

The idea that one's life flashes before their eyes one last time is something that Thierry hopes will be supported by future research in the field.

It would be a peaceful sendoff into the unknown even if one of them had their head chopped off.

Death and life flash before our eyes, how long are we conscious for? The conversation

Scientists recorded the brain activity of a person as they died, and the results are amazing.

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