Consciousness Flashcards
What are teh elements of consciousness?
LEVEL - awake? Eyes closed or open?
CONTENT - richness
SELF - certainty of “we are us”
States of consciousness
Slide 43 [pic]
What are the mechanisms of consciousness?
Reticular activating system - system that ENABLES consciousness
Slide 46
No single brain region for consciousness
Look for brain networks instead (groups of brain regions that seem to work together)
Quantifying brain complexity using transcranial magnetic stimulation and EEG - pertubational complexity index (PCI)
Neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) Slide 53
Location of neurons? Number of neurons? Probably not as simple as that (e.g. can remove cerebellum and still be conscious)
Probably more to do with dynamics of neuronal activity.
What are the disorders of consciousness?
Coma
Vegetative state
Minimally conscious state (MCS)
NOTE: NOT brainstem death or locked in syndrome
Slide 56 [pic]
What is a coma?
A state of unrousable unresponsiveness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person:
- cannot be awakened - fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound - lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle - does not initiate voluntary actions
Slide 57 [pic]
What is vegetative state?
A state of wakefulness without awareness in which there is preserved capacity for spontaneous or stimulus -induced arousal
Slide 55
Slide 57 [pic]
What is minimally conscious state (MCS)?
Slide 55
Testing covert awareness in disorders of consciousness
Asking patients to imagine e.g. playing tennis and walking round the house
Looking at brain activity to test their awareness, comparing them to controls
Slide 58 [pic]
What is the Glasgow coma scale?
Slide 65 [pic]
What are the causes of coma?
Slide 67-68
Neglect
No longer conscious of half
Visual neglect - ignores half visual field
Different to heminaopia (know that they have a defect and adjust accordingly)
EEGs
Measure brain activity from the scalp
Slide 62-63 [pic]
Slowing in EEG = bad
Alpha rhythm = good healthy brain
