What part of the brain wakes you up from a coma?

We now know that there are collections of nerve cells in the lower part of the brain, called the brainstem, which are responsible for maintaining a waking state.

What part of the brain keeps someone alive in a coma?

A vegetative state occurs when the cerebrum (the part of the brain that controls thought and behavior) no longer functions, but the hypothalamus and brain stem (the parts of the brain that control vital functions, such as sleep cycles, body temperature, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, and consciousness) continue ...

How does someone come out of a coma?

Some people come out of a coma without any mental or physical disability, but most require at least some type of therapy to regain mental and physical skills. They may need to relearn how to speak, walk, and even eat. Others are never able to recover completely.

What is the first thing to wake up from a coma?

Can someone wake up from a coma with a brain damage?

A coma can last for weeks or years, and doctors do not have any way to guess how long the coma will last. Some patients may never wake up from the coma and remain in a persistent vegetative state. Not all brain injuries result in coma, but severe brain injuries are generally more likely to cause the condition.

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What part of the brain is damaged in coma?

Comas are caused by damage to the brain, especially if there's bilateral damage to the cerebral cortex (which means damage on both sides), or damage to the reticular activating system. The reticular activating system controls arousal and awareness of the cerebral cortex.

Can brain activity come back?

Brain death: Irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. A person who is brain dead is dead, with no chance of revival.

How do coma patients wake up?

They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a machine to help them breathe. Over time, the person may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Some people will wake up after a few weeks, while others may go into a vegetative or minimally conscious state.

Can someone who is in a coma hear you?

They look as if they are asleep. However, the brain of a coma patient may continue to work. It might “hear” the sounds in the environment, like the footsteps of someone approaching or the voice of a person speaking.

Why do coma patients cry?

A comatose patient may open his eyes, move and even cry while still remaining unconscious. His brain-stem reflexes are attached to a nonfunctioning cortex. Reflex without reflection. Many professionals speak of this condition as a ''persistent vegetative state.

What is the longest coma ever recorded?

When Edwarda O'Bara died on 21 November 2012, she had survived 15,663 days (about 42 years) in a coma. Born in 1953, in Miami, Florida, O'Bara suffered a childhood history of diabetes, which she successfully managed with insulin.

What is the longest someone's been in a coma?

Elaine Esposito (December 3, 1934 – November 25, 1978) held the record for the longest period of time in a coma according to Guinness World Records, having lost consciousness in 1941 and eventually dying in that condition more than 37 years later.

How long can you be in a coma before they pull the plug?

"Pulling the plug" would render the patient unable to breathe, and the heart would stop beating within minutes, he said. But if a patient is not brain dead and instead has suffered a catastrophic neurological brain injury, DiGeorgia said, he or she could breathe spontaneously for one or two days before dying.

How Long Has someone been in a coma and woke up?

Terry Wallis (1964–2022). This American man was in a coma for nearly a year after a truck accident, then a minimally conscious state for 19 years.

Can the brain heal after lack of oxygen?

A full recovery from severe anoxic or hypoxic brain injury is rare, but many patients with mild anoxic or hypoxic brain injuries are capable of making a full or partial recovery. Furthermore, symptoms and effects of the injury are dependent on the area(s) of the brain that was affected by the lack of oxygen.

Can a person who is brain dead open their eyes?

For example, they may open their eyes but not respond to their surroundings. In rare cases, a person in a vegetative state may show some sense of response that can be detected using a brain scan, but not be able to interact with their surroundings.

What's the shortest time you can be in a coma?

Typically, a coma does not last more than a few days or couple of weeks. In some rare cases, a person might stay in a coma for several weeks, months or even years. Depending on what caused the person to go into a coma, some patients are able to return to their normal lives after leaving the hospital.

Do you have brain activity while in a coma?

A coma is a deep state of eyes-closed unconsciousness where a person is not able to respond to people or the environment around them. In a coma, a patient is alive and there is some brain activity.

Can you feel in a coma?

People in a coma are completely unresponsive. They do not move, do not react to light or sound and cannot feel pain. Their eyes are closed.

Why do coma patients open their eyes?

Classically, return of eye-opening after brain injury is thought to indicate recovery of consciousness or progression to UWS (i.e., wakefulness without clinical signs of awareness).

What test is done to see if someone is brain dead?

A patient properly determined to be brain dead is legally and clinically dead. The diagnosis of brain death is primarily clinical. No other tests are required if the full clinical examination, including an assessment of brain stem reflexes and an apnea test, is conclusively performed.

How long does it take to determine if someone is brain dead?

After the first clinical exam, the patient should be observed for a defined period of time for clinical manifestations that are inconsistent with the diagnosis of brain death. Most experts agree that a 6 hour observation period is sufficient and reasonable in adults and children over the age of 1 year.

Is a ventilator and life support the same thing?

Types of Life Support

When most people talk about a person being on life support, they're usually talking about a ventilator, which is a machine that helps someone breathe. A ventilator keeps oxygen flowing throughout the body by pushing air into the lungs.

What part of the brain is responsible for unconscious bodily functions?

Your brainstem is the bottom part of your brain. It looks like a stalk that connects the rest of your brain to your spinal cord. Your brainstem sends signals from your brain to the rest of your body. It controls many subconscious body functions, like breathing and maintaining your heart rate.

Do you age slower in a coma?

the cellular mechanism for ageing has been associated with progressive shortening of telomere length on the ends of each chromosome with each cell cycle.. in the contect of this, a coma wouldnt necessarily keep you young, but you would age just the same.