The workings of the brain

[spursfan09]

If doctors say that a person is basically "Brain dead" and can never recover...Why can that person take breaths by themselves? I see the body moving and stretching also. I mean can a person regain thier brain function blood and oxygen are still flowing to the brain?

[greyforest]

different parts of the brain do different stuff

breathing is controlled by the more ancient hindbrain whereas cognitive thought and other human stuff is done by the cerebral cortex

a truly "brain dead" person with their entire brain gone is dead. you describe someone with only basic autonomic functions and reflexes functioning, but with no cognitive thought. all just comes down to semantics.

[MiamiHeat]

If doctors say that a person is basically "Brain dead" and can never recover...Why can that person take breaths by themselves? I see the body moving and stretching also. I mean can a person regain thier brain function blood and oxygen are still flowing to the brain?

because he's turning into a zombie.

[ashbeeigh]

A lot of times the twitching and all that good stuff is residual muscles and extra goodies that happen after the fact...like the signals were sent a while ago and are now just arriving to that part of the body too.

[BlackSwordsMan]

it's called a million dollar machine pumping air in your lungs

[spursfan09]

:wow Let's see when some of you go through something like this, and see if you expierence some of the most of the shittiest insensitive people in the world like yourselves. I was looking for more medical explanations, not your dumbass opinions.

[spursfan09]

Thanks Ash and grey for explaining a little more. Just so many questions.

[Cyrano]

Breathing and heartbeat are controlled by the brainstem, and have nothing to do with cognitive functions. When working in the OR many years ago, I was present at the birth of an anencephalic baby, who also had arthrogryposis, or fusion of his skeletal joints. He was breathing, but did not cry at all. The spookiest part was when the doctor held him up with the overhead light behind him, the light was literally shining out of his eyes, since there was no brain to block the light.
When, due to disease or injury, the cerebrum is damaged or lost, but the brainstem remains intact, the patient can breath, but there are no higher brain functions. and therefore no awareness or voluntary motion. This condition can persist for years, which, in the absence of clear instructions from the patient pre-injury, leads to difficult decisions by loved ones, and sometimes grotesque legal battles as in the case of Terry Schaivo, where her husband insisted that she did not want life support, and her parents insisted that she did. Ultimately, her feeding tube was removed and she was allowed to starve to death. This is referred to as "benign neglect", and I honestly don't know if I could make that choice for anyone. Both my wife and I have filled out written instructions in case such a thing should occur to either of us, which made it pretty rough when she was in a coma for two weeks back in October. Luckily, there was no question of brain death, as her EEG showed activity throughout, but it was a very harrowing time.

[Cyrano]

Or, to give a more typical response, brain dead people walk among us all the time. We call them "politicians".

[O-Factor]

Its an autonomic thing. An involuntary reflex so to speak. Kind of like you don't "try"(involuntary) to digest your food like you try(voluntary) to chew it.

[BlackSwordsMan]

:wow Let's see when some of you go through something like this, and see if you expierence some of the most of the shittiest insensitive people in the world like yourselves. I was looking for more medical explanations, not your dumbass opinions.

Jump off a building head first and find out first hand

[mrsmaalox]

Check your PM's

[spursfan09]

Or, to give a more typical response, brain dead people walk among us all the time. We call them "politicians".

:lol Okay that made me laugh!

[spursfan09]

Jump off a building head first and find out first hand

No thank you. My family has suffered enough.

[marini martini]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140925




because he's turning into a zombie.


Jump off a building head first and find out first hand

:nope

Have mercy, all is not fun & games.

[sabar]

Brain death is much more serious than an irreversible coma.

A brain dead person is legally dead and their entire brain has no electrical activity. Their eyes don't dilate, they cannot think, act, dream, feel pain, or be aware of their existence. The neurons in the brain are dead. Signals won't be sent, memories wont be recalled, nothing will happen.

Breathing is controlled by the brain stem involuntarily. Heart beat is controlled by the heart itself with the a biological pacemaker.

Note that in theory I could decapitate you and keep your organs alive. Yet, are you truly living? All your organs need to live is oxygen and glucose. All your muscles need to move are electrical impulses, which can be sent from the spinal cord or brain stem (or a machine).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Skull_and_brain_normal_human.svg/225px-Skull_and_brain_normal_human.svg.png

All the pink tissue is dead or the wiring between it is dead. Neither can be replaced. A brain dead person is pretty much just living meat. They will never awaken unless brain transplants come around, in which case they would be a different person. Everything that made them who they are is dead.

Note that brain death is much more final than a persistent coma. It is essentially dead and rotten.

I'm sorry. Someone in a permanent coma is where the gray area is as far as life and death go, but in this case, there is no difference between an empty skull and a brain dead person.

[Fpoonsie]

Can't offer any more explanations than several of the (appropriate) ones already given, but my thoughts are w/ you, your family, and your niece during this all-too trying time.

Hang in there, sf09.

[marini martini]

Can't offer any more explanations than several of the (appropriate) ones already given, but my thoughts are w/ you, your family, and your niece during this all-too trying time.

Hang in there, sf09.

+1, my friend!!!

[MiamiHeat]

dude

zombies.

[phyzik]

A body can survive without a brain, it doesnt mean they can ever function as a consious human being.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/87/34842/baby-without-brain-celebrates-first-birthday.html

All about:
Pregnancy and Health
His name is Nicholas, and he is a miracle child. This little boy living in Pueblo, Colorado, was born with anencephaly, a genetic disease in which a person has no brain, just a brain stem. This means baby Nicholas cannot see, hear, suck, crawl, or sit up. But he has survived without doctors or tubes to celebrate his first birthday.

Anencephaly is a defect in the closure of the neural tube during development in the womb. The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes between the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy, forming the brain and the spinal cord. In rare cases, one end of the neural tube does not close. This results in the absence of a major part of the brain, skull, and scalp.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, anencephaly occurs in about 1 out of 10,000 births, although the exact number is not known because many of these pregnancies result in a miscarriage. Women who have one infant with this disorder are at increased risk of having another child with neural tube defects.

Infants who are born with anencephaly have no forebrain, which is the front and largest part of the brain. The forebrain controls cognitive, sensory, and motor functions, regulates temperature, reproductive functions, eating, sleeping, and display of emotions. They also lack the cerebrum, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and coordinating. The remaining brain tissue is often not covered by bone or skin. A baby born with anencephaly is usually blind, deaf, unconscious, and unable to feel pain.

Some babies, like Nicholas, are born with a rudimentary brain stem. The brain stem is responsible for basic vital life functions, such as breathing, heart beat, and blood pressure. The cause of anencephaly is unknown, although the mother’s diet, including an insufficient intake of folic acid, may play a role. Most scientists, however, believe many other factors are also involved.

Most babies born without a brain die within hours of birth, but Nicholas has beat the odds. According to his mother, Sheena Coke, “He’s a miracle. He’s changed so many lives.” She and her husband have a Christmas miracle in little Nicholas. He may not have a brain, but he has touched many hearts. Happy birthday, Nicholas, and Merry Christmas.

SOURCES:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Newsfirst5.com, Dec. 16 and 18, 2009

__________________________________________________ _______

I was tasked, as the oldest pure blood son of my father, to make the decision about my father 6 days after the turn of the century.

Its a hard dicision to make but, in hind sight, he wasnt there anymore. I let him go on Jan. 6th 2000. I was 20yrs old a the time.

My mother passed away in 2006 during an operation on her lungs.

Shit happens.

[spursfan09]

"Shit happens"

But shouldn't happen to 3 mo old little girls.

Anyway I am still confused on the whole if her brain is not working then why does it seem like she reacts when we talk to her, and she looks like she gets pissed when the nurses try to change her diaper. It's just so wierd.

[I. Hustle]

Man this stuff is deep. I can't imagine going through any of that with someone I love.

[DMX7]

Note that in theory I could decapitate you and keep your organs alive. Yet, are you truly living?


According to republicans, Yes.

[spursfan09]

Man this stuff is deep. I can't imagine going through any of that with someone I love.

All I can say is this has changed my life, and be thankful that you don't have to go through this.

[BacktoBasics]

All I can say is this has changed my life, and be thankful that you don't have to go through this.It would have helped if you explained your situation up front. You came to the wrong place if you wanted medical explanations without opinions.

I still don't know exactly what it is that you're going through but whatever it is I'm sorry for your tribulations.