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First ever recording of dying brain in its final moments

<p>The first ever recording of a dying brain has been revealed – and in fact, it's possible that we might relive some of our best memories in our last moments.</p> <p>Scientists have accidentally captured our most complex organ as it shut down, showing an astonishing snapshot into death. Similar brainwave changes have been seen in rats at the time of death, but never in humans before.</p> <p>A patient being treated for epilepsy was hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) when the recording was made. The 87-year-old man’s brain activity was being measured when he suddenly had a heart attack and died. This means that the 15 minutes leading up to his death were recorded on the EEG.</p> <p>In the 30 seconds either side of the patient’s final heartbeat, an increase in very specific brainwaves were spotted. These waves, known as gamma oscillations, are linked to things like memory retrieval, meditation and dreaming.</p> <p>This could mean that although many more studies would need to take place – we might see a sort of film reel of our best memories, or we could enter a peaceful dreamlike state in our final moments that has a response in our brain akin to meditation.</p> <p>As our bodies shut down, our brains could still be working hard in a concerted effort to deliver its final task.</p> <p>Neurosurgeon Dr Ajmal Zemmar at the University of Louisville, who organised the study said: “Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences.</p> <p>The study, published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, said: “our data provide the first evidence from the dying human brain in a non-experimental, real-life acute care clinical setting and advocate that the human brain may possess the capability to generate co-ordinated activity during the near-death period.</p> <p>This single case study could now pave the wave for a greater understanding about what happens to us when we die.</p> <p>But, Dr Zemmar added: “Something we may learn from this research is: although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives."</p> <p><em>Image: Getty </em></p>

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Brain strain: neurological effects of COVID and vaccines compared

<p>Concerns about the side-effects of COVID vaccinations have been amplified during the current pandemic by both the vast quantity of data that’s accumulating, and traditional- and social-media coverage.</p> <p>Rare blood clots resulting from first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1nCoV-19) vaccine have been most prominently revealed. As a result there have been changes to the age range of people administered AstraZeneca vaccine, and in a few instances its suspension from national vaccination programs.</p> <p>Now, a nationwide study of 32 million adults in England has revealed an increased, but low, risk of the rare neurological conditions Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and Bell’s palsy following a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The study also revealed an increased, but low, risk of hemorrhagic stroke following a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine.</p> <p>However, the research, <a rel="noopener" href="/t%20%20https:/doi.org/10.1038/%20s41591-021-01556-7" target="_blank">published</a> in <em>Nature Medicine</em>, also revealed a substantially higher risk of seven neurological outcomes, including GBS, after a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.</p> <p>“Crucially, we found that the risk of neurological complications from [COVID] infection was substantially higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccinations in our population,” the authors wrote. “[F]or example, 145 excess cases versus 38 excess cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome per 10 million exposed in those who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and [AstraZeneca]-19 vaccine, respectively.”</p> <blockquote> <p>“The risks of adverse neurological events following SARS-CoV-2 infection are much greater than those associated with vaccinations”</p> </blockquote> <p>Cosmos has <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/adverse-reactions-guillain-barre-tts-and-the-fine-mesh-net/" target="_blank">reported</a> on the extraordinarily fine-mesh approach to monitoring vaccine side-effects in Australia, which as of early September had been unable to establish a clear link between GBS and AstraZeneca shots. All Australians vaccinated for COVID thus far have received one of the two vaccines examined in the new research, and their efficacy has been widely confirmed.</p> <p>The study – a collaboration between several English and Scottish institutions – made its findings among English adults, which was then replicated in an independent national cohort of more than three million Scottish people.</p> <p>The authors anticipate that these results will inform risk–benefit evaluations for vaccine programs as well as clinical decision-making and resource allocation for these rare neurological complications. They conclude their findings are likely to be of relevance to other countries, but that more studies need to be done.</p> <p>“We believe that these findings are likely to be of relevance to other countries using these vaccines and it would be useful to replicate these results in similarly large datasets internationally,” wrote the authors, in conclusion.</p> <p>“Importantly, the risks of adverse neurological events following SARS-CoV-2 infection are much greater than those associated with vaccinations, highlighting the benefits of ongoing vaccination programs.”</p> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=170617&amp;title=Brain+strain%3A+neurological+effects+of+COVID+and+vaccines+compared" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p> <!-- End of tracking content syndication --> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/side-effects-of-covid-and-vaccines/" target="_blank">This article</a> was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/cosmos-editors" target="_blank">Cosmos</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Wikimedia Commons</em></p> </div>

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