In the first half, neurosurgeon Dr. Kevin Tracey discussed his groundbreaking research on the vagus nerve and its potential to revolutionize treatment for inflammatory diseases. The vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down through the neck and into the abdomen, plays a crucial role in regulating vital functions. Tracey noted, "The vagus nerve is the only nerve in your body that if you cut it on both sides, you die. It controls how your heart beats, how your lungs function, and how your gastrointestinal system digests food." The vagus nerve is like a "transatlantic cable" carrying information from organs to the brain and back, he added.
Tracey and his team experimented with stimulating the vagus nerve, and "we found that signals traveling from the brain down the vagus nerve to the immune system were capable of shutting down inflammation," he marveled. Their findings led to the development of a vagus nerve stimulator device, akin to a pacemaker, which has shown promising results in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis.
Elaborating on the mechanism of vagus nerve stimulation, he said in lab tests, it facilitates the release of acetylcholine and norepinephrine to suppress cytokines (associated with inflammation). He emphasized the vagus nerve's dual role in the body, stating, "If you have damage to your vagus nerve... it would be like having damage to your brake line," allowing excessive inflammation to occur. Tracey is optimistic about the future of vagus nerve stimulation, and how it can be used to treat various inflammatory conditions with technology rather than traditional pharmaceuticals.
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In the latter half, author and clinical hypnotherapist Simon Bown shared incredible near-death experiences that he believes offer verification of the afterlife. He recounted a striking example with the case of a Hungarian man named Tibor Putnoki, who, during his NDE at a hospital, accurately described events and details from a nurse's room and even a location seven kilometers away, including reading a serial number and seeing an item that had rolled underneath a cabinet.
When addressing the skepticism from scientists regarding NDEs, Bown argued, "How can you say it's something happening in the brain... when there are so many instances of things verified that's nowhere near their body?" He concluded that while NDEs may not represent the full scope of the afterlife, they serve as a "theater" for acclimatization before moving on. Many experiencers undergo profound life reviews, he continued, feeling the emotions of others they impacted. He described these reviews as "powerful and impactful," leading individuals to become "changed people" after their NDEs.
He discussed striking similarities across 30 NDE cases, particularly in several instances where there was a recurring theme of a "huge white building" in the afterlife, described as a place of learning filled with books and scrolls. Around 50-60% of subjects reported encounters with deceased loved ones, often feeling a mix of love and reluctance to return to life. "I feel that consciousness is something enormous and something we can't understand... it seems to be eternal, but at the same time, time doesn't exist in the afterlife," Bown remarked.
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, John Truman Wolfe