Brain Arousal Flashcards
What are the 2 parts of consciousness?
Arousal
Awareness
What is arousal?
Being awake
What is awareness?
Conscious process of inputs
What needs to be activated in order to have arousa land awareness?
Cortex using brainstem
What is a coma?
Not awake or aware
What is a persistent vegetative state?
Have sleep/wake cycles
No awareness
Cortical neurons = 30 mV below threshold
What comprises a
Minimally conscious state?
Sleep/wake cycles
Evidence of awareness (can respond to simple commands)
Limited to absent communication
What does a comatose state result from?
Massive and bilateral damage to cerebral cortices
What can disrupt consciousness?
Smaller lesions in brain stem, midbrian, or hypothalamus
What are the levels of perception?
Least to greatest
Coma —> arousal wakefulness—>awareness—>alertness
What will a COMA have in terms of
- Eye/head motions
- Sleep/wake cycles
- Awareness
- Verbal responses ?
- May be present
- No
- No
- No
What will a PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE have in terms of
- Eye/head motions
- Sleep/wake cycles
- Awareness
- Verbal responses ?
- Yes
- Yes
- No
- No
What will a MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS have in terms of
- Eye/head motions
- Sleep/wake cycles
- Awareness
- Verbal responses ?
- Yes
- Yes
- May be present
- May be present
What will AWARE/ALERT have in terms of
- Eye/head motions
- Sleep/wake cycles
- Awareness
- Verbal responses ?
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
What are the arousal system?
EAA Cholinergic Noradrenergic Serotonergic Dopamineragic
What comprises the EAA arousal system?
Reticular activating system
Parabrachial nuclei
What is the role of the EAA arousal system?
Provides baseline excitation that is crucial to cortical activity
What are the nuclei found in the
Cholinergic arousal system?
Pedunculopontine tegmentum
Laterodorsal nuclei (PPT/LDT)
Where is the
Noradrenergic arousal system?
Locus ceruleus
Where is the
Serotonergic arousal system?
Raphe nuclei
Where is the
Dopaminergic arousal system?
Ventral tegmentum area
Where is the
Reticular activation system (an EAA arousal system)
Mid ventral potion of medulla and midbrain
What is the Reticular Activating system
Loose collection of neurons and fiber tracts that receive info from all ascending sensory tracts
As well as info from trigeminal, auditory, and visual tracts
Is modal specificity kept in the RAS?
Why or why not?
It is lost
Bc of Synaptic convergence that allows neurons of RAS to respond equally well to multiple sensory modalities
What are the 2 pathways used by RAS?
Dorsal and ventral pathway
What is the dorsal pathway?
Diffuse pathway to high levels via non-specific nuclei of THALAMUS (including intralaminar nucleus of the thalamus)
What is the ventral pathway?
Bypasses thalamus!!!!
Diffuses to high levels via basal forebrain and hypothalamus
Which path bypasses the thalamus?
Ventral