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Research Article

Surge of neurophysiological coherence and connectivity in the dying brain

Jimo Borjigin, UnCheol Lee, Tiecheng Liu, Dinesh Pal, Sean Huff, Daniel Klarr, Jennifer Sloboda, Jason Hernandez, Michael M. Wang, and George A. Mashour
  1. Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
  2. bNeurology, and
  3. dAnesthesiology, and
  4. cNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; and
  5. eVeterans Administration, Ann Arbor, MI 48105

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PNAS first published August 12, 2013; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1308285110
Jimo Borjigin
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
bNeurology, and
cNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; and
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  • For correspondence: borjigin@umich.edu
UnCheol Lee
dAnesthesiology, and
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Tiecheng Liu
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
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Dinesh Pal
dAnesthesiology, and
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Sean Huff
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
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Daniel Klarr
dAnesthesiology, and
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Jennifer Sloboda
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
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Jason Hernandez
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
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Michael M. Wang
Departments of aMolecular and Integrative Physiology,
bNeurology, and
cNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; and
eVeterans Administration, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
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George A. Mashour
cNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; and
dAnesthesiology, and
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  1. Edited by Solomon H. Snyder, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, and approved July 9, 2013 (received for review May 2, 2013)

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Abstract

The brain is assumed to be hypoactive during cardiac arrest. However, the neurophysiological state of the brain immediately following cardiac arrest has not been systematically investigated. In this study, we performed continuous electroencephalography in rats undergoing experimental cardiac arrest and analyzed changes in power density, coherence, directed connectivity, and cross-frequency coupling. We identified a transient surge of synchronous gamma oscillations that occurred within the first 30 s after cardiac arrest and preceded isoelectric electroencephalogram. Gamma oscillations during cardiac arrest were global and highly coherent; moreover, this frequency band exhibited a striking increase in anterior–posterior-directed connectivity and tight phase-coupling to both theta and alpha waves. High-frequency neurophysiological activity in the near-death state exceeded levels found during the conscious waking state. These data demonstrate that the mammalian brain can, albeit paradoxically, generate neural correlates of heightened conscious processing at near-death.

  • global ischemia
  • global hypoxia
  • near-death experience
  • consciousness

Footnotes

  • ↵1J.B. and U.L. contributed equally to this work.

  • ↵2To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: borjigin{at}umich.edu.
  • Author contributions: J.B. and M.M.W. conceived the idea of the project; J.B. and G.A.M. designed experiments; J.B., U.L., and G.A.M. planned analysis; T.L. and D.P. performed electrode implantation; J.B., T.L., D.P., S.H., and D.K. collected data; U.L. wrote analysis programs; J.B., U.L., J.S., J.H., and G.A.M. analyzed data; and J.B., U.L., M.M.W., and G.A.M. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1308285110/-/DCSupplemental.

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Brain activity surges at near-death
Jimo Borjigin, UnCheol Lee, Tiecheng Liu, Dinesh Pal, Sean Huff, Daniel Klarr, Jennifer Sloboda, Jason Hernandez, Michael M. Wang, George A. Mashour
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2013, 201308285; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308285110

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Brain activity surges at near-death
Jimo Borjigin, UnCheol Lee, Tiecheng Liu, Dinesh Pal, Sean Huff, Daniel Klarr, Jennifer Sloboda, Jason Hernandez, Michael M. Wang, George A. Mashour
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2013, 201308285; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1308285110
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This article has Letters. Please see:

  • Relationship between Research Article and Letter - October 18, 2013
  • Relationship between Research Article and Letter - November 06, 2013

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  • Limits of BIS scoring in patients at near death
    - Oct 18, 2013
  • Providing a scientific framework for NDE
    - Nov 06, 2013
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