Earlier today we posted an article about Deep Brain Stimulation inspired by a 38-year old patient that regained consciousness. Below is an excerpt from Plum and Posner’s Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma 4th edition, to help you further understand how miraculous Deep Brain Stimulation is.
Consciousness is the state of full awareness of the self and one’s relationship to the environment. Clinically, the level of consciousness of a patient is defined operationally at the bedside by the responses of the patient to the examiner. It is clear from this definition that it is possible for a patient to be conscious yet not responsive to the examiner, for example, if the patient lacks sensory inputs, is paralyzed, or for psychologic reason decides not to respond. Thus, the determination of the state of consciousness can be a technically challenging exercise. In the definitions that follow, we assume that the patient is not unresponsive due to sensory or motor impairment or psychiatric disease. (more…)
0 Comments on Consciousness as of 1/1/1990
Add a Comment