CONSCIOUSNESS AND BRAIN ACTIVITY Flashcards
what is consciousness?
the state of being aware of and responsive to one’s surroudnings
what is locked in syndrome?
complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, except for those that control the eyes
what is the Glasgow coma scale?
The most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury.
what is the lowest score possible on the Glasgow coma scale?
3
what does GCS 13-15 mean?
mild head injury
what does GCS 9-12 mean?
moderate head injury
what does GCS 3-8 mean?
severe head injury/coma
what are the 3 factors that suggest a patient is in a coma?
not opening their eyes, not uttering understandable words and not obeying commands
what is the Reticular Activating system?
What is its role?
a network of neurons located in the brain stem that project anteriorly to the hypothalamus to mediate behavior, as well as both posteriorly to the thalamus and directly to the cortex for activation of awake, desynchronized cortical EEG patterns.
what is the reticular formation?
a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem. It’s not anatomically well defined, because it includes neurons located in different parts of the brain.
what are the 4 nuclei of the reticular formation?
locus coeruleus
raphe nuclei
ventral tegmental area
cholinergic nuclei
locus coeruleus
where is it?
what is its neurotransmitter?
located in pons
noradrenaline
raphe nuclei
where is it?
what is its neurotransmitter?
located in midline of midbrain, pons and medulla
serotonin
where is the ventral tegmental area?
what is its neurotransmitter?
ventral region of the midbrain
dopamine
what are the 2 cholinergic nuclei?
basal forebrain nuclei
dorsolateral pontine nuclei
where does the basal forebrain nuclei project its information to?
all cortical areas