What happens when you're about to die? Chemists explain exactly how death feels Video reveals how fear and pain trigger different parts of the brain Brain's chemistry places body in a state of hyper-alertness and activity Also explains how brain experiences an extra jolt of life before it dies
By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com
Published: 16:22 EST, 27 October 2015 | Updated: 16:37 EST, 27 October 2015
As Halloween approaches, you may be watching more horror films from the comfort of your home.
But imagine, for a moment, what it would feel like to have a slasher scenario played out in real-life.
In a new video, scientists have explained exactly how you brain’s chemistry changes just before you’re killed by an axe murderer. The video, by the American Chemical Society, highlights how the experience of watching people get chased through a horror film is actually similar to being there - albeit less intense.
First, you’ll fear and intense sense of fear, which is an evolutionary response that gets you ready to react or run away.
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Fear results is thought it could be controlled by a cluster of neurons that form the PVT, or paraventricular nucleus of something known as the thalamus.
This region of the brain is extremely sensitive to stress, acting as a sensor for both psychological and physical tension.
‘When the signal reaches the periaqueductal grey, it switches to a state of alertness,’ the video says.
Fear will startle you into reacting, which is when the fight or flight response is triggered which causes your adrenal glands to start pumping out adrenaline.
This raises your heart rate, sharpens senses and provides access to huge amounts of energy in order to cope with threats to survival.
At times, the threat is so intense it can cause a 'freeze' response.
This could be interpreted as the brain being overwhelmed, or it may have evolved as a way of keeping still to hide from predators.
If you do manage to get away from the axe murderer, you’ll probably start screaming.
'We perceive screams in a completely different part of the brain to language,’ the video explains.
'Unlike normal speech, screams go from your ears to the amygdala, which is the brain's emergency centre.'
‘It’s almost like the screamer is trying to share with you the state of their brain chemistry.’
Screams are mostly instinctive, and used to cause others to be fearful and react.
If your axe murderer catches up with you, you will likely feel severe pain.
When you’re injured, neurons called nociceptors send messages up to the brain.
Those are collected by the thalamus, which in tries to tell the brain to do whatever it can to stop the injury happening again.
‘So now you’re dead on the floor’, the video continues.
‘Assuming no massive brain injury was inflicted, at this point you’d be assumed clinically dead.’
But your brain keeps working. According to recent studies, the brain appears to undergo a final surge which can be associated with consciousness.
‘Some folks believe this is an explanation for near-death experiences,’ the video says.
Then comes biological death. And what happens after that is anyone’s guess
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3292466/What-happens-die-Chemists-explain-exactly-death-feels.html#ixzz3prOv6yY1 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
When my mother passed she looked like she just took a deep breath of relief and she had a smile on her lips. Before she died she asked me who the young man standing next to me was. There was no one there and she was not medicated and she was alert.
I agree with Czech, they don't know. As a Christian I know where I will go.
