how do people die instantly?

Question

You typically see people deteriorating and stop breathing or fall into a state of unconsciousness – this seems steady. But when you read of freak accidents like being decapitated internally (the spinal cord detaching from the head), how do you just die instantly? If the brain can survive 6 minutes without oxygen until pronounced brain dead…how does someone just die? Even if your heart stops beating there and then, how do you just drop dead?

Edit: thanks!

In: 89

Answer 1

Its not clear that there is instant death.

There are multiple reports of severed heads via the guillotine that seem to be alive for less than a minute or so after decapitation including blinking, looking around and changing facial expressions. Animal studies of decapitation show several seconds of continued electrical activity in the brain after severing the head.