Science of Survival: Struck by Lightning
Outside Podcast
00:00
The Effects of Lightning on the Brain
There's a theory that lightning strips the brain's nerves of myelin. A fatty protective sheath that acts like the casing around an electrical wire, insulating it. With the coating gone, the theory goes, the nerves would misfire. When it's gone, you discharge your short circuit. That's just not what's going on. It may be because of little rips and tears. Even at the microcellular level where some synapses that used to work don't work anymore. We're not exactly sure how.
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