So far, scientists have established that at the moment of death, when the brain is deprived of oxygen, it triggers a series of electrical events, drastically reducing its activity until it stops completely. But new research highlights the existence of a “high-amplitude” wave, a type of burst of activity that will come from deeper layers of the cortex and travel through the brain like a wave. According to the researchers, this burst may be what “shuts down” the brain at death
Protect essential brain functions
However, contrary to what its name suggests, this discovery represents hope for a new form of care for those in intensive care. Indeed, according to the researchers, if the brain is re-oxygenated in time during this “death wave”, brain activity can resume and mark the beginning of a possible recovery.
This is an advance in doctors’ perception of brain shutdown, which would be an evolutionary and potentially reversible process rather than a clear and fixed end, and opens the way to new treatments and targeted interventions that can protect the precisely essential brain. Functions in the event of oxygen deficiency.
