Probably a very stupid question but I can’t wrap my head around it. For instance if someone had head trauma, why can they not wake up after a few days or so? What is it that keeps them unconscious for such a duration of time with nothing to wake them?
Edit: i’m confused why this got so many upvotes but thanks😁
In: 5318
Mostly that they aren’t asleep — they are operating on minimal brain function.
And to your question, most people come out of coma after a couple of weeks, it just isn’t like in the movies where they are instantly alert and responsive.
Well,depends on the cause but I’m gonna explain the most frequent causes:
1.basically a cerebral trauma (someone falling on his head)/a brain tumor/other brain lesions that are extensive and/or alter important brain parts that have the role of assuring awake* state=> various degrees of comatose state
*for example, there are specific brain parts that controle how awake you are,how asleep you are, just by sending stimulating/inhibitory signals to other parts of the brain that assure thinking/sight/hearing/etc.
2.Otherwise after a shock sustained by the body that alters its capacity to function and to deliver oxygenated blood to the brain ( polytrauma etc) the brain goes into “protective” mode :
inhibitory signals get sent more than stimulating ones and thus the brain reduces its activity and its oxygen consumption until the body recovers.
3. some toxic waste products/drugs alter the brain neurochemistry upping the production of inhibitory neurotransmitters.
*In medicine,we sometimes give patients drugs that induce a neuroinhibitory response (coma) to protect the patient until the body heals to a certain degree (we call this induced coma).For example we may induce the coma in order to intubate a patient and replace the respiratory function.
It all boils down to sending messages to other neurons that they either need to be working harder (stimulatory), or they either need to tone it down (inhibitory) or damaging the very parts that usually send those messages.
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
I haven’t actually seen someone talk about the anatomy of what’s happening so I figured I’d comment.
You have a part of your brain called your RAS system, which stands for reticular activating system. What this area of the brain does is it filters things which your consciousness is aware of. You probably weren’t conscious of your breathing until I mention it, because your RAS system deems being aware of it unimportant for the most part. Another example is not feeling your pants brushing and moving against your legs most of the day. The RAS system is also a big part of the process of waking up from sleep every night.
When I’m a coma, usually the RAS has some sort of damage that prevents it from sending information to your consciousness, thus preventing you from even realizing any stimulus is happening.
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