At first glance, defining unconsciousness may seem easier than defining it's counterpart consciousness. Indeed, consciousness has many definitions 1 , while unconsciousness is " just " the absence of consciousness. However, the study of patients with epilepsy or severe disorders of consciousness (e.g., coma and vegetative states) or focal deficits of consciousness (e.g., blindsight) and studies...

The objective of this study was to utilize tissue deformation thresholds associated with acute axonal injury in the immature brain to predict the duration of unconsciousness. Ten anesthetized 3- to 5-day-old piglets were subjected to nonimpact axial rotations (110-260 rad/s) producing graded injury, with periods of unconsciousness from 0 to 80 min. Coronal sections of the perfusion-fixed brain ...

There is an intimate relationship between consciousness and the notion of self. By studying patients with disorders of consciousness, we are offered with a unique lesion approach to tackle the neural correlates of self in the absence of subjective reports. Studies employing neuroimaging techniques point to the critical involvement of midline anterior and posterior cortices in response to the pa...

Neurology® Clinical Practice 2010;75(Suppl 1):S33–S38 Coma resulting from brain injury or illness usually is a transient state. Within a few weeks, patients in coma either recover awareness, die, or evolve to an eyes-open state of impaired responsiveness such as the vegetative or minimally conscious state. These disorders of consciousness can be transient stages during spontaneous recovery from...

This study considers the emerging issue of consciousness in pedagogy both theoretically and practically. It examines why this issue is of fundamental significance for teaching and learning. Basic assumptions are clarified and the psychological and philosophical fundamentals of consciousness theory explored. Some surprising and counter-intuitive conclusions are reached. It is shown that in the p...