Considering consciousness clinically / Gerry Leisman, Joav Merric, Editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Leisman, Gerry, editor.

Merric, Joav, editor.

Series:

Functional Neurology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Loss of consciousness.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

Place of Publication:

Hauppauge, New York : Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2016.

Summary:

Disorders of consciousness (DOC) represent one of the most complex and crucial challenges for neuroscientists. A precise and reliable assessment of the arousal and awareness of consciousness in patients with severe brain damage would allow for a comprehensible classification of DOC. Intensive care has led to an increase in the number of patients who survive after severe acute brain damage. Most comatose patients who survive begin to awaken and recover gradually within 2-4 weeks. Although some of these individuals gradually experience complete brain function loss which leads to brain death (BD), oftentimes this state is treated as synonymous with the death of the individual. Nonetheless, other individuals progress to "wakeful unawareness", which is defined as a vegetative state (VS). DOC terminology may be useful clinically, but does little to explain the nature of consciousness. While it is not known which portions of the brain are responsible for cognition and consciousness, what little is known points to substantial interconnections among the brainstem, subcortical structures and the neocortex. Thus, the "higher brain" may well exist only as a metaphorical concept and not in reality.

Contents:

CONSIDERING CONSCIOUSNESS CLINICALLY ; CONSIDERING CONSCIOUSNESS CLINICALLY ; Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data; CONTENTS ; INTRODUCTION ; Chapter 1 CONSIDERING CONSCIOUSNESS CLINICALLY ; ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION; VEGETATIVE STATE ; LOCKED-IN SYNDROME ; DEATH; BRAIN DEATH ; WHAT IS DEATH? ; SPINAL SHOCK ; CONSCIOUSNESS ; CONCLUSION ; REFERENCES ; SECTION ONE: CONSCIOUSNESS ; Chapter 2 NETWORKS OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE: COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IN UNDERSTANDING LIFE, DEATH AND CONSCIOUSNESS ; ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION ; THE NEED FOR CONCEPTUALIZATION

DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTINUUM OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE CONTEXT OF DEATH? COMA ; PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE ; Continuum Theory; REFERENCES; Chapter 3 AROUSAL AND CONSCIOUSNESS: EFFECTS OF TOTAL CORTICAL EXTIRPATION IN THE MAMMAL ; ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION ; Activation of Waking, Attention, Arousal ; What Constitutes the Waking (or Sleeping) State of the Human in a Vegetative State? ; DISCUSSION ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; REFERENCES ; Chapter 4 THE DIAGNOSIS OF BRAIN DEATH: APNEIC-OXYGENATION AS A SELF-FULFILLING DIAGNOSTIC TEST; ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION

Problems in current practice of determining brain death using the apnea test The apnea test ; Rationale of the apneic-oxygenation test ; Performance of apneic-oxygenation test ; Flaws of the apneic-oxygenation test ; Fatal harm from hypercarbia; Hypercarbia may itself be a confounder ; The apnea test has been empirically refuted ; Potential harm from complications of the apnea test ; The apnea test does not test medullary respiratory center function ; Confounders to performing an apnea test are usually present ; IMPLICATIONS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Alternatives to the apneic-oxygenation test Brain blood flow testing; Abandon the dead donor rule, or abandon organ donation ; CONCLUSION ; REFERENCES; Chapter 5 DISRUPTED AXONAL FIBER CONNECTIVITY AS A MARKER OF IMPAIRED CONSCIOUSNESS STATES ; ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION; OUR STUDY; Patient with LIS; Controls ; Image Acquisition and Preprocessing ; Network Definition ; Fiber tracking and node-node connectivity ; Graph analysis; FINDINGS ; DISCUSSION ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; REFERENCES

Chapter 6 CHILDREN AND SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: PROGNOSTIC FACTORS OF THE GLASGOW OUTCOME SCALE AFTER 6 MONTHS ABSTRACT ; INTRODUCTION ; MATERIALS AND METHODS ; RESULTS ; DISCUSSION; REFERENCES ; Chapter 7 TIMING OF ENTRY TO A MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS STATE RELATED TO PROGNOSIS FOR PEOPLE WITH SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY ; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION ; OUR STUDY; FINDINGS; DISCUSSION ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; REFERENCES ; Chapter 8 BRAIN DEAD: CLINICAL AND NEUROPATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS ; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION ; OUR STUDY; FINDINGS ; DISCUSSION ; CONCLUSION; REFERENCES

Chapter 9 DIAGNOSIS OF DEATH IN MODERN HOSPITAL PRACTICE

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-63484-261-8