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The 21-gram theory by Dr. Duncan Macdougall



In 1901 Dr. Duncan MacDougall attempted to show that the human soul has a mass. Dr. MacDougall measured many patients before and after their death he got the idea that there was a simultaneous loss of 21 grams of the weight in every single body after they were dead. Skeptics thought that things like the size of tumors caused that small loss of the mass. And the 21-gram theory is justified as pseudoscience. 

The theory remained (at least almost) pseudoscience. Until some neurologists noticed that during death the neurons are activated before and after the moment of death. 

Especially the activating of neurons after the moment of death can cause that weight loss. That thing requires energy. And maybe just 21 grams of some nutrients or sugars are turning into energy. 

Why do neurons increase their activity, especially after death? Some sources are mentioned. That in brain activity has two pikes just before and after the moment of death. 

Just after the death neurons reactivate and that thing causes thoughts that "is somebody or something checking that everything was just fine"? this is one of the creepy things that come to mind. When we are looking at the results of modern neurology and old theories. 

That strange two-stage activation of the neurons could explain that mystery. There is the possibility that some neurotransmitters are destroyed during that process or some chemical reactions are transforming nutrients like pyruvic acid into energy. 

The thing is that what happens during death is not researched yet. The precise moment of death is not documented very often by using EEG and MEG scanners. Those scanners are uncovering the new things about that process which is the end of a person's life. 

Many things happen during death that has never been noticed yet. And the key question is why neurons reactivate after death? There is some genetic trigger that causes this thing. But what is the purpose of that strange thing that is happening during death?


https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/what-happens-die-brain-activity-life-heart-beating-death-after-eeg-study-research-a7620131.html


https://qpsneuro.com/researchers-discover-some-brain-cells-increase-activity-after-death/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_grams_experiment

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