WEBVTT - Would You Really Stay Conscious After Being Decapitated?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Volke Bomb and today's question is would you

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<v Speaker 1>really stay conscious after being decapitated? Let's look first at

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<v Speaker 1>what consciousness is. The molecular biologist Francis Crick, one half

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<v Speaker 1>of the research team who discovered the structure of DNA

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<v Speaker 1>later in his career, came up with what he called

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<v Speaker 1>the astonishing hypothesis. It is crudely put, the idea that

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<v Speaker 1>every aspect of human consciousness, from affinity for one's family,

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<v Speaker 1>to a belief in God to the experience of the

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<v Speaker 1>color green, is merely the result of electrical activity in

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<v Speaker 1>our brain's neural networks. As he wrote in You're Nothing

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<v Speaker 1>but a Pack of neurons, at the basis of our

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<v Speaker 1>conscious experience are chemicals called neurotransmitters. These chemicals generate electrical

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<v Speaker 1>signals that form the means by which neurons communicate with

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<v Speaker 1>one another and ultimately form neural networks. When we stimulate

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<v Speaker 1>these networks, we experience the physical sensations and emotions that

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<v Speaker 1>make up our lives. We store these as memories to

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<v Speaker 1>be recalled when the neural networks that store them are

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<v Speaker 1>activated once more. The idea may be a bit glum,

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<v Speaker 1>but it forms the basis of the idea that the

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<v Speaker 1>electrical activity in the brain is the detectable trace of

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<v Speaker 1>our conscious experience by correlation, then so long as we

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<v Speaker 1>can detect this electrical activity through the use of technology

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<v Speaker 1>like the e G which measures brain waves, we can

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<v Speaker 1>assume that a person is experiencing consciousness. This is what

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<v Speaker 1>makes a two thousand eleven study from the Netherlands so troubling.

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<v Speaker 1>The researchers were trying to determine whether decapitation, which is

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<v Speaker 1>a common method of uthanizing lab rats, is humane. They

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<v Speaker 1>connected an EEG machine to the brains of rats, decapitated them,

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<v Speaker 1>and recorded the electrical activity in the brain after the event.

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<v Speaker 1>The researchers found that for about four seconds after being

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<v Speaker 1>separated from the body, the rats brains continue to generate

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<v Speaker 1>electrical activity between the thirteen to one hurts frequency band,

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<v Speaker 1>which is associated with consciousness and cognition a k A. Thinking.

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<v Speaker 1>This finding suggests the brain can continue to produce thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>and experienced sensations for at least several seconds following decapitation

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<v Speaker 1>in rats. Anyway, Yet, the annals of medicine following the

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<v Speaker 1>invention of the guillotine have some very interesting scientific observations

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<v Speaker 1>of human decapitation. Let's look at what happens when one

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<v Speaker 1>loses one's head. The circulatory system delivers oxygen and other

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<v Speaker 1>necessary particles via blood to the brain so that the

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<v Speaker 1>brain can carry out its necessary functions. Deprived of oxygen

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<v Speaker 1>or blood, the brain's function deteriorates rapidly. Circulation takes place

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<v Speaker 1>in a closed system based on a pressurized environment. Blood

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<v Speaker 1>is pumped in and out of the heart and past

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<v Speaker 1>the lungs, where it's refreshed once more. Decapitation opens this

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<v Speaker 1>closed system irrevocably, causing a full and massive drop in

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure, leaving the brain starved of both blood and oxygen.

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<v Speaker 1>Depending on how the head is removed from the body,

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<v Speaker 1>this loss of blood and ultimately consciousness can take longer

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<v Speaker 1>in some modes of decapitation than in others. Several blows

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<v Speaker 1>to the back of the neck with a sword or

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<v Speaker 1>axe can lead to blood loss before the head is

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<v Speaker 1>fully severed from the body, but the design of the guillotine,

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<v Speaker 1>the execution method of choice during the French Revolution, made

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<v Speaker 1>severing the head cleaner and quicker. The blade and weight

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<v Speaker 1>assembly of the guillotine weighed more than a hundred seventy

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<v Speaker 1>five pounds that's eight ks, and was dropped from a

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<v Speaker 1>height of fourteen feet or just over four meters from

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<v Speaker 1>ground level onto the back of the victim's neck. Moreover,

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<v Speaker 1>the guillotine's blade was set within a track leading in

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<v Speaker 1>a direct line down to the back of the victim's neck.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a rumor that this superior execution technology led to

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<v Speaker 1>at least one case of apparent consciousness after decapitation. Executions

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteenth century France were public affairs, and executioners customarily

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<v Speaker 1>showed the head of the victim to the assembled crowd

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<v Speaker 1>that sometimes performed some gesture of disrespect as well, as

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<v Speaker 1>was the case with Charlotte Corday, a woman executed by

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<v Speaker 1>guillotine in seventeen ninety three after she assassinated the revolutionary

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<v Speaker 1>leader Jean Paul Moran. After her head was severed, the

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<v Speaker 1>executioner smacked its cheeks while he held it aloft, to

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<v Speaker 1>the astonishment of the crowd. Corday's cheeks flushed and her

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<v Speaker 1>facial expression changed into quote unequivocal marks of indignation. Most recently,

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen eighty nine, an army veteran reported that following

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<v Speaker 1>a car accident that he was in with a friend,

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<v Speaker 1>the decapitated head of his friend changed facial expressions quote

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<v Speaker 1>first of shock or confusion, then to terror or grief.

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<v Speaker 1>Both King Charles the First and Queen Anne Boleyn are

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<v Speaker 1>reported to have showed signs of trying to speak following

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<v Speaker 1>their beheadings by executioner's swords rather than the guillotine, And

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<v Speaker 1>when in seventeen ninety five a German researcher by the

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<v Speaker 1>name of St. Summering spoke out against the use of

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<v Speaker 1>the guillotine, he cited reports of decapitated heads that have

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<v Speaker 1>ground their teeth and that the face of one decapitated

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<v Speaker 1>person grimaced horribly when a physician inspecting the head poked

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<v Speaker 1>the spinal canal with his finger. But perhaps most famous

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<v Speaker 1>was the study conducted in nineteen o five of the

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<v Speaker 1>head of an executed criminal. Over the course of twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five to thirty seconds of observation, the physician warded managing

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<v Speaker 1>to get the head to open its eyes and undeniably

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<v Speaker 1>focus them on the doctors twice by calling the executed

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<v Speaker 1>man's name. Some say that none of this proves consciousness.

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<v Speaker 1>The movement seen in the phase could be the result

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<v Speaker 1>of the voluntary muscles that control the lips and eyes

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<v Speaker 1>merely being in spasm after a sort of short circuit,

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<v Speaker 1>or from the relic of electrical activity. This is likely

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<v Speaker 1>true for the rest of the body, but the head

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<v Speaker 1>has the distinction of housing the brain, which is the

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<v Speaker 1>seat of consciousness. The brain receives no drama from a

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<v Speaker 1>clean decapitation, and may therefore continue to function until blood

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<v Speaker 1>loss causes unconsciousness and death. We know that chickens often

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<v Speaker 1>walk around for several seconds after decapitation. The Dutch rat

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<v Speaker 1>study mentioned earlier suggests a length of perhaps four seconds.

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<v Speaker 1>Other studies of small animals have found up to twenty

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<v Speaker 1>nine seconds, but any amount of time would be horrific.

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<v Speaker 1>Take a moment to count off four seconds while you

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<v Speaker 1>look around the room. You'll likely find you can take

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<v Speaker 1>in quite a bit visually and orally during that time. However,

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<v Speaker 1>we may never fully know if a human remains conscious

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<v Speaker 1>after the head is lost. As author Alan Bellows points out,

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<v Speaker 1>further scientific observation of human decapitation is unlikely. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Josh Clark and produced by Tyler Clang Josh,

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<v Speaker 1>who you may have heard on a little show called

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff You Should Know, has a new podcast coming out

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<v Speaker 1>called The End of the World. If you enjoy slightly glum,

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<v Speaker 1>but nonetheless fascinating discussions like the one from today's episode,

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<v Speaker 1>go check it out. The first episode of the End

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<v Speaker 1>of the World drops November seven, and the trailer is

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<v Speaker 1>up everywhere you get your podcasts, and of course, for

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other curious topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how Stuff works dot com.