Deck 13: Disorders of Consciousness

Question 1

Which of the following is the best definition of 'Disorders of Consciousness'?

A) Unconscious states that occur each night during sleep
B) Conscious states that are disordered
C) Potentially non-reversible unconscious states due to brain trauma or damage.
D) Potentially reversible conscious states due to disease

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A coma state is characterized by:

A) Lack of sleep-wake cycles
B) Severe damage to both hemispheres of the cortex, both thalami, and the brainstem
C) Complete loss of spontaneous arousal
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is a key difference in brain processes during Slow Wave Sleep versus anesthesia?

A) Anesthesia contains many substances including agents that produce memory loss while Slow Wave Sleep does not include the production of memory loss
B) Slow Wave Sleep slows down brain processes throughout the brain while anesthesia slows down brain processes just in the cortex
C) Slow Wave Sleep induces atonia, a brief paralysis, while anesthesia does not
D) All of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The Locked-in Syndrome is:

A) Not actually a Disorder of Consciousness
B) Characterized by intact cognition
C) Typically has damage to the brainstem but with an intact cortex
D) All of the above

Question 5

The Vegetative State differs from the Coma State in that: it is characterized by:

A) Complete loss of spontaneous arousal
B) Spontaneous eye-opening without evidence of awareness
C) Damage to the hippocampus
D) Low levels of wakefulness combined with high levels of awareness

Question 6

Studies of patients with a Disorder of Consciousness reveal:

A) Differences in brain metabolism across key cortical regions versus healthy individuals
B) Most patients show active cognitive function despite being unconscious
C) Similar levels of Wakefulness and Awareness for all Disorders of Consciousness patients
D) All of the above

Question 7

Unconsciousness can be separated into two broad types:

A) Dreaming and non-dreaming
B) Reversible and non-reversible
C) Waking and Dreaming
D) Wakefulness and Sleeping

Question 8

Why is it difficult to diagnose a particular Disorder of Consciousness using bedside/observational techniques?

Question 9

For a healthy individual, which regions of the brain are most highly active from a metabolic perspective?

A) The brainstem and the Prefrontal cortex
B) The Prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus
C) The precuneus and the posterior cingulate cortex
D) The precuneus and the parietal lobe

Question 10

Which of the following is a key motivation for studying brain activity in patients with a Disorder of Consciousness?

A) To aid in making end-of-life decisions
B) To better understand the cognitive state of an unconscious patient
C) To guide in predicting recovery potential of an unconscious patient
D) All of the above.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of 'reversible unconsciousness'?

A) Slow Wave Sleep
B) Anesthesia
C) Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
D) All of the above