Unconsciousness, more appropriately referred to as loss of consciousness Consciousness is often used colloquially to describe being awake and aware—responsive to the environment, in contrast to being asleep or in a coma. In philosophical and scientific discussion, however, the term is restricted to the specific way in which humans are mentally aware in such a way that they distinguish clearly between themselves and or lack of consciousness, is a dramatic alteration of mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma In medicine, a coma is a profound state of unconsciousness. A comatose person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to pain or light, does not have sleep-wake cycles, and does not take voluntary actions is an illustration of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a decrease of the oxygen supply to the brain is an illustration of a temporary loss of consciousness. Loss of consciousness must not be confused with altered states of consciousness An altered state of consciousness, , also named altered state of mind is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1969 by Charles Tart and describes induced changes in one's mental state, almost always temporary. A synonymous phrase is "altered states of awareness&, such as delirium Bickerstaff defines delirium as a state in which the patient appears out of touch with his surroundings and is spontaneously producing evidence of his confusion and disorientation by muttering, rambling, shouting, often offensively and continuously, with evidence of delusion and hallucination, and often with so much associated motor activity that (when the person is confused and only partially responsive to the environment), normal sleep Sleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed in humans and other animals. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily reversible than hibernation or coma. It is common to all mammals and birds, and is also seen in many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. In humans, other mammals, and, hypnosis Hypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes (nonstate theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject ("hetero-suggestion"), or may be self-, and other altered states in which the person responds to stimuli.
Loss of consciousness should not be confused with the notion of the psychoanalytic unconscious The unconscious mind is a term invented by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Ser Christopher Riegel and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The unconscious mind might be defined as that part of the mind which gives rise to a collection of mental phenomena that manifest in a person's mind but or cognitive processes (e.g., implicit cognition) that take place outside of awareness.
Loss of consciousness may occur as the result of traumatic brain injury Traumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism (closed or penetrating head injury), or other features (e.g. occurring in a specific location or over a widespread area). Head injury usually refers to TBI, but is a broader category because it can involve damage, brain hypoxia Hypoxia is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body (tissue hypoxia) is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise. A mismatch between oxygen supply and its demand at the cellular level (e.g., due to a brain infarction In medicine, an infarction is the process of tissue death caused by blockage of the tissue's blood supply. The supplying artery may be blocked by an obstruction (e.g. an embolus, thrombus, or atherosclerotic plaque), may be mechanically compressed (e.g. tumor, volvulus, or hernia), ruptured by trauma (e.g. atherosclerosis or vasculitides), or or cardiac arrest), severe poisoning with drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system (e.g., alcohol and other hypnotic or sedative drugs), severe fatigue, and other causes.
Law and medicine
In jurisprudence Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. As jurisprudence has developed, there are three main aspects with which scholarly writing engages:, unconsciousness may entitle the criminal defendant A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute to the defense In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defence in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability. Besides contesting the accuracy of any allegation made against him or her in a criminal or civil proceeding, a defendant may also make allegations against the prosecutor or plaintiff or raise a of automatism In the Criminal Law, automatism is a defense to liability. Except in the case of strict liability offences, a crime must contain two elements: the actus reus or "guilty act", and the mens rea or "guilty mind". This defense seeks to prove that the criminal defendant made only physical movements and did not "act" as, an excusing condition In jurisprudence, an excuse or justification is a form of immunity that must be distinguished from an exculpation. In this context, "to excuse" means to grant or obtain an exemption for a group of persons sharing a common characteristic from a potential liability. "To justify" as in justifiable homicide means to "vindicate& which allows a defendant to argue that they should not be held criminally liable In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance or puts an individual at a disadvantage. Although the term has very particular definition in the realm of finance, it is also used in non-finance contexts. The word liability may also refer to individual or an attribute or a component that puts a team or group at a disadvantage for their actions or omissions In the criminal law, an omission, or failure to act, will constitute an actus reus and give rise to liability only when the law imposes a duty to act and the defendant is in breach of that duty. In most countries, courts are called upon to consider whether unconsciousness in a situation can be accepted as a defense; it can vary from case to case. Hence epileptic seizures An epileptic seizure is a transient symptom of excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. It can manifest as an alteration in mental state, tonic or clonic movements, convulsions, and various other psychic symptoms . The medical syndrome of recurrent, unprovoked seizures is termed epilepsy, but seizures can occur in people who do not, neurological Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue, such as muscle. The corresponding surgical specialty dysfunctions and sleepwalking Sleepwalking is a parasomnia or sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while he or she is asleep or in a sleep-like state. Sleepwalking is usually defined by or involves the person affected apparently shifting from his or her prior sleeping position and moving around and performing may be considered acceptable excusing conditions because the loss of control is not be foreseeable, but falling asleep (especially while driving or during any other safety-critical activity), may not be because natural sleep rarely overcomes an ordinary person without warning.
In many countries, it is presumed that someone who is less than fully conscious cannot give consent Consent can be either express or implied. For example, participation in a contact sport usually implies consent to contact by other participants, when contact is permitted by the rules of the sport. Express consent exists when verbal or written contractual agreement occurs to anything. This can be relevant in cases of sexual behavior, euthanasia Euthanasia (from the Greek ευθανασία meaning "good death": ευ-, eu- + θάνατος, thanatos (death)) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including animal euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary or patients giving informed consent Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at with regard to starting or stopping a treatment.
In certain countries, first responders, EMT, or paramedics must legally obtain consent from a casualty if (s)he is conscious during an emergency before they can assume patient care. In most situations where the casualty is deemed unconscious, consent is implied and the emergency service provider is free to assume patient care.
See also
- Fainting Syncope is the medical term for fainting, a sudden, usually temporary, loss of consciousness generally caused by insufficient oxygen in the brain either through cerebral hypoxia or through hypotension, but possibly for other reasons. Typical symptoms progress through dizziness, clamminess of the skin, a dimming of vision or brownout, possibly
- Coma In medicine, a coma is a profound state of unconsciousness. A comatose person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to pain or light, does not have sleep-wake cycles, and does not take voluntary actions
- Brownout A brownout, or grey-out, is a transient loss of vision characterised by a perceived dimming of light accompanied by a brown hue and a loss of peripheral vision.[citation needed] It is a precursor to fainting or a blackout and is caused by hypoxia, a loss of blood pressure or restriction of blood flow to the brain. It is commonly experienced when or greyout, a partial loss of consciousness
- Traumatic brain injury Traumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism (closed or penetrating head injury), or other features (e.g. occurring in a specific location or over a widespread area). Head injury usually refers to TBI, but is a broader category because it can involve damage
- Consciousness Consciousness is often used colloquially to describe being awake and aware—responsive to the environment, in contrast to being asleep or in a coma. In philosophical and scientific discussion, however, the term is restricted to the specific way in which humans are mentally aware in such a way that they distinguish clearly between themselves and
- Sleep Sleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed in humans and other animals. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily reversible than hibernation or coma. It is common to all mammals and birds, and is also seen in many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. In humans, other mammals, and
- Hypnosis Hypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes (nonstate theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject ("hetero-suggestion"), or may be self-
- Do Not Resuscitate In the United States, a do not resuscitate, or DNR, order is a written order from a doctor that resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. Such an order may be instituted on the basis of an advance directive from a person, or from someone entitled to make decisions on their behalf, such as a health
- Living will Advance health care directives, also known as advance directives or advance decisions, are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event that they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity. A living will is one form of advance directive, leaving instructions for
- Shallow water blackout A shallow water blackout is a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water typically shallower than five metres , when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it. Victims are often established
- Somnophilia
- Soul Sleep In Christian theology, soul sleep is a belief that the soul sleeps unconsciously between the death of the body and its resurrection on Judgment Day. Soul sleep is also known as psychopannychism (from Greek psyche + pannuchizein (to last the night))
Categories: Consciousness studies | Symptoms
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Chris
2009-03-06 05:03:09
2 Responses to Stream of . unconsciousness. . andrebb says: March 5, 2009 at 21:05. Oh, hey, am I not the only one here? Figured I can say whatever I want when the rest of the office is out. Now get this straight, Hanneford: You will . ...
