Academic Journal
From guillotine to EEG: Revisiting the neurological controversies of decapitation through modern neurophysiology.
| Τίτλος: | From guillotine to EEG: Revisiting the neurological controversies of decapitation through modern neurophysiology. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Mathis S; Nerve-Muscle Unit, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France; ALS Reference Center, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France; Neuromuscular Pathologies Reference Center, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France. Electronic address: stephane.mathis@chu-bordeaux.fr., Le Masson G; Nerve-Muscle Unit, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France; ALS Reference Center, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France; Neuromuscular Pathologies Reference Center, University Hospital (CHU) of Bordeaux, 2 place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux 33000, France. |
| Πηγή: | Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews [Neurosci Biobehav Rev] 2026 Aug; Vol. 187, pp. 106751. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 14. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Historical Article; Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Pergamon Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7806090 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7528 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01497634 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: New York Ny : Pergamon Press Original Publication: Fayetteville, N. Y., ANKHO International Inc. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Brain*/physiopathology , Brain Death*/physiopathology , Consciousness*/physiology , Decapitation*/physiopathology , Decapitation*/history , Electroencephalography*/history , Neurophysiology*/history, Animals ; Humans ; History, 18th Century ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century |
| Περίληψη: | The question of whether consciousness persists after decapitation has fascinated scientists, philosophers, and the public for over two centuries, from 18th-century debates over the guillotine to modern neurophysiological studies of cerebral ischemia. This review synthesizes historical controversies-such as the anecdotal reports of facial movements in severed heads and early galvanism experiments-with modern neurophysiological evidence to reinterpret the mechanisms underlying the loss of consciousness. We trace the evolution of hypotheses from initial philosophical speculations to electroencephalography-based debates and finally to contemporary neuroimaging of the "wave of death" (irreversible neuronal depolarization at ∼27 s post-decapitation). By integrating comparative studies across species (rats, lambs, humans) and clinical parallels (brain death, traumatic brain injury), we highlight neurophysiological mechanisms, ethical implications and future directions. This interdisciplinary synthesis bridges historical narratives with cutting-edge neuroscience, providing a critical perspective on the neural correlates of consciousness and the ethical boundaries between life and death. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Brain death criteria; Brainstem reflexes; Consciousness loss mechanisms; Decapitation neurophysiology; Wave of death |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260515 Date Completed: 20260612 Latest Revision: 20260616 |
| Update Code: | 20260617 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106751 |
| PMID: | 42140370 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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