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The human brain buzzes with activity after a person’s death, the researchers revealed, although there appears to be a logical, unrelated zombie explanation for the bizarre phenomenon.
A new article published in Scientific Reports has found that glial cells – non-neuronal cells that work in the central nervous system – kick in hours after a person dies. Brain cells not only come to life, but they also expand and grow arm-like appendages.
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Study author Jeffrey Loeb, who heads neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine, noted that his team’s findings may surprise many, including d other researchers in his field.
“Most studies assume that everything in the brain stops when the heart stops beating, but it doesn’t,” Loeb said. “Our results will be needed to interpret research on human brain tissue. We just haven’t quantified these changes so far. “
However, he pointed out that postmortem activity was not “Too surprising” because glial cells are inflammatory and “Their job is to clean things up after brain damage like oxygen deprivation or a stroke.” The particular trait resulted in glial cells being nicknamed the “Zombie gene”.
The results will have huge implications for past and future studies involving brain samples. Until now, scientists who have been using human brain tissue to research new treatments and potential cures for neurological disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease have not taken into account post-mortem cell activity. In other words, future research in these areas should be more precise.
But even after death, the “Zombie gene” does not live forever. Loeb’s team found that after about 24 hours, the cells ceased to activity and became indistinguishable from the breakdown of brain tissue.
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