Comas

Three different types of neurons:
1. motor neuron
2. sensory neuron
3. interneuron
-motor neuron send messages away from the central nervous system
-sensory neuron regulates the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell)
-interneurons send messages between the motor and sensory neurons.
-a person in a coma is unconscious.
-they're still alive and able to breathe but they cannot respond to any stimuli
(sound of someone's voice or painful actions)
-they cannot perform any voluntary actions such as lifting arm or hitting someone
-the brain is still working but at it's most basic level
-consciousness depends on the constant transferring of chemical signals from the brainstem and thalamus to the cerebrum.
-they are connected by neural pathways called the RAS (Reticular Activating System)
-any interruptions to these messages put people into an altered states of consciousness.




http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/N/Neurons.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/coma.htm


1. How do people hallucinate?
2. What happens when a person is brain dead?
3. What happens to your brain when you die?