Comments on: Consciousness and the Culture Wars, Part Three http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/ A blog about life, past and future. Written by DISCOVER contributing editor and columnist Carl Zimmer. Sat, 26 May 2012 01:25:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Dave Mullenix http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1765 Dave Mullenix Tue, 22 Feb 2005 12:41:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1765 True story: about 14-15 years ago, I was working in the clinical engineering dept at University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. We had a patient on one of the upper floors who had been in a coma or some other non-responsive state for a long time. He needed some dental work, and since he still felt pain, he was given a sedative before beginning the work - and he woke up! When the sedative wore off, he became unconscious again. With another hit of sedative, he woke up again! At that point, his relatives took him from the hospital and I don't know what happened to him. I didn't see any of this myself, I got all of the information from the Wisconsin State Journal and the Capital Times, two Madison newspapers. Regarding Terry Schaivo, my understanding is that a good chunk of her cortex is completely gone. If that is true, I think it's a safe assumption that her personality is gone with it. Even if you somehow coaxed the cortex to regenerate, all the personal information would be lost forever. True story: about 14-15 years ago, I was working in the clinical engineering dept at University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. We had a patient on one of the upper floors who had been in a coma or some other non-responsive state for a long time. He needed some dental work, and since he still felt pain, he was given a sedative before beginning the work – and he woke up! When the sedative wore off, he became unconscious again. With another hit of sedative, he woke up again!

At that point, his relatives took him from the hospital and I don’t know what happened to him. I didn’t see any of this myself, I got all of the information from the Wisconsin State Journal and the Capital Times, two Madison newspapers.

Regarding Terry Schaivo, my understanding is that a good chunk of her cortex is completely gone. If that is true, I think it’s a safe assumption that her personality is gone with it. Even if you somehow coaxed the cortex to regenerate, all the personal information would be lost forever.

]]> By: triticale http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1764 triticale Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:15:49 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1764 And then there are the occasional incidents wherein a <a href="http://www.thedonovan.com/beth/archives/cat_my_opinion.html#003620" rel="nofollow">person</a> regains conciousness after an extended absence. And then there are the occasional incidents wherein a person regains conciousness after an extended absence.

]]> By: Kyle Hasselbacher http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1763 Kyle Hasselbacher Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:16:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1763 <i>I can imagine no hell worse than one's ego trapped incommunicado in an increasingly solipsistic environment. Insanity must ensue.</i> Someone studied patients who are fully aware but unable to affect the world and <a href="http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=PTO-20030724-000002" rel="nofollow">found</a>:<blockquote>Although <a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis.htm" rel="nofollow">ALS</a> patients were more depressed than the general population, those surveyed were not nearly as distressed as people suffering from clinical depression.</blockquote>"Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is." I can imagine no hell worse than one’s ego trapped incommunicado in an increasingly solipsistic environment. Insanity must ensue.

Someone studied patients who are fully aware but unable to affect the world and found:

Although ALS patients were more depressed than the general population, those surveyed were not nearly as distressed as people suffering from clinical depression.

“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.”

]]> By: Ray Arrowood http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1762 Ray Arrowood Fri, 11 Feb 2005 15:01:09 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1762 There is some evidence (like organ transplants and Rolfing) that suggest memory is actually stored in the body and the brain is only a processing medium like a computer chip. It would be interesting to try experiments like massaging (Rolfing perhaps) people in comas to stimulate brain activity. It might help them recovery faster. Just a thought Ray There is some evidence (like organ transplants and Rolfing) that suggest memory is actually stored in the body and the brain is only a processing medium like a computer chip.

It would be interesting to try experiments like massaging (Rolfing perhaps) people in comas to stimulate brain activity. It might help them recovery faster.

Just a thought

Ray

]]> By: Doug http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1761 Doug Fri, 11 Feb 2005 13:44:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1761 Carl: "Scientists studying people in minimally conscious states?" For a moment I thought researchers might be coming down to see us in Georgia. Doug Savannah Carl:
“Scientists studying people in minimally conscious states?” For a moment I thought researchers might be coming down to see us in Georgia.

Doug
Savannah

]]> By: Noumenon http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1760 Noumenon Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:02:42 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1760 <i>One quibble: what's the difference between "have a small but real chance of recovering" and "almost never recover"?</i> I was coming to say the same thing. One quibble: what’s the difference between “have a small but real chance of recovering” and “almost never recover”?

I was coming to say the same thing.

]]> By: Mark Nutter http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1759 Mark Nutter Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:12:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1759 Interesting stuff. One quibble: what's the difference between "have a small but real chance of recovering" and "almost never recover"? Some might argue (and I'm sure in the Schiavo case, unfortunately, some will argue) that the difference is purely rhetorical--they both mean recovery is rare but not impossible. I would not jump to that conclusion myself, but some undoubtedly will, and I'm not in a position to clarify it either way. Interesting stuff. One quibble: what’s the difference between “have a small but real chance of recovering” and “almost never recover”? Some might argue (and I’m sure in the Schiavo case, unfortunately, some will argue) that the difference is purely rhetorical–they both mean recovery is rare but not impossible. I would not jump to that conclusion myself, but some undoubtedly will, and I’m not in a position to clarify it either way.

]]> By: tom http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1758 tom Wed, 09 Feb 2005 19:19:46 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1758 David, I think a kind of insanity does ensue, every night as your brain entertains itself during the 8 hours of solipsism that sleep gifts us. Insanity, but not hell. Why would a minimally conscious state be any different from this kind of unstructured consciousness? It may last longer, but time is distorted in dreams anyway. David, I think a kind of insanity does ensue, every night as your brain entertains itself during the 8 hours of solipsism that sleep gifts us. Insanity, but not hell.

Why would a minimally conscious state be any different from this kind of unstructured consciousness? It may last longer, but time is distorted in dreams anyway.

]]> By: David Govett http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/comment-page-1/#comment-1757 David Govett Wed, 09 Feb 2005 08:03:35 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/02/08/consciousness-and-the-culture-wars-part-three/#comment-1757 I can imagine no hell worse than one's ego trapped incommunicado in an increasingly solipsistic environment. Insanity must ensue. I can imagine no hell worse than one’s ego trapped incommunicado in an increasingly solipsistic environment. Insanity must ensue.

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