Disoders Of Consciousness Flashcards
What two things are needed for a person to be ‘conscious’?
Wakefulness and awareness
Define ‘coma’
Unarousable unresponsiveness
Define ‘vegetive state’
Wakefulness, but with no awareness
Some reflexes and arousal
Sleep wake cycles
Define ‘minimally conscious state’
Very altered consciousness
Evidence of awareness
Some reproducible responses
Some interaction with the environment
Define ‘MCS-minus’
Localizing and pursuit movements
Define ‘MCS-positive’
Language processing and communication
‘Continuing’ state refers to how long?
Over 4 weeks
‘Persistent’ state refers to how long?
No change over 6 months
What two brain areas are important for consciousness?
The reticular activating system
The cortex
What role does the reticular activating system play in consciousness?
Awareness and alertness
What role does the cortex play in consciousness?
Attention, action, etc…
What are the 6 sub scales measured by the JFK coma recovery scale?
Auditory, visual, motor, oromotor, communication, arousal
What is the main positive of the JKF coma recovery scale?
Can differentiate between vegetive state and minimally conscious state
What does the Wessex sad injury scale measure?
Responsiveness and interaction with the environment and provides a scale of different sensory modalities
What can functional imaging show, to help with diagnosis of disorders of consciousness?
Shows regional brain changes e.g. blood flow/metabolism
EEG to rule out seizures and look for sleep-wake cycle
Suggests cortical systems are intact
