If someone is in a coma do the have to lose their memory?
409400
No. My brother was in a coma, and is just as sharp minded as he was before his stroke. Amnesia causes memory loss.
515094
The basic mechanism of a concussion is the brain banging up against the inside of the skull. Think of coffee in a cup in your lap in the car. You hit the brakes hard and the coffee tries to keep going, sloshing out of your cup. When the head under goes a rapid change in direction, the brain continues to travel in the direction it was already going. If it is a sudden stop, it continues to move forward in the cerebral spinal fluid that surrounds it, striking the inside of the skull. \nOversimplifying slightly, this kills a bunch of brain cells. The death of brain cells (and other interruptions in brain function caused by the same basic mechanism) causes the symptoms of loss of consciousness, dizziness, memory loss, "stars in front of the eyes."
840043
I am terribly sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he or she will get better soon.\nThe human brain consists of many different parts, the fact that your friend is in a coma does not tell us which parts of his or her brain is affected.\nI've found these links for you, hopefully the can help you understand more about how the brain is organized and how the different parts interact:\nhttp://www.waiting.com/brainanatomy.html (this subsite is especially about coma: http://www.waiting.com/comabasics.html )\nhttp://www.neuropat.dote.hu/anatomy.htm\nBest of luck to both of you.
486691
This is the best question I've ever seen.  Thanks so much for asking it!  You will not get the full answer, but it will be very interesting if you keep asking smart people what they think.  I really want to know the answer to this question, and I never thought to ask it myself.\n\nObviously the brain (and possibly the body as well) requires some kind of regenerative process, just like it requires a certain amount of food and water and oxygen.  You can't go too long without either, or else your body will break down.  If you "lose sleep," you suffer - no one gets away with it.  In fact, one of the ways they use to torture prisoners of war nowadays is sleep deprivation.  Even the most hardened killers begin to crack under its effects, physically and psychologically.  \n\nDo trees sleep?  You have to wonder.\n\nI'll let you in on one secret I know that most people do not.  One of the answers to your question is that the unconscious mind has about 1 million times more processing power than the conscious mind.  It would make sense if our body's natural functions require the full force of regulatory calculations that only the unconscious mind can perform.  In other words, if we only used our conscious minds to run our body and brains, we would quickly degenerate and die.  We're nowhere near as smart when awake as we are while asleep.  Unfortunately, the only way to do work (to get food & water) is to be awake, alert, receiving new data, and guiding one's movements.  Then again, we can live for decades in a coma.\n\nThis is such a great question.
558602
Short term memory loss. Gosh does it make me mad sometimes. I usually forget about non important things anyway, so no biggie!
444613
You should ask the doctor or surgeon treating the patient.  I wouldn't even guess unless you told me what part of the brain was damaged.
1051547
first of all let me say that i'm very sorry to hear about your friend.\n\nmost people with brain stem injuries unfortunately do not survive. this is the "control center" for our brains and is responsible for most everything our bodies do. \n\nmost cases of brain injuries i've seen (i work in trauma icu) don't have promising outcomes. the brain swells, and if there is no skull fracture-the swelling has nowhere to go but down the neck, which involves the brain stem and the brain "suffocates" itself due to the swelling. \n\nmore than likely, a ct scan and mri will be done on your friend to determine the amount of brain activity-if there is none-they will more than likely be declared brain dead and family will be consulted on what decision to make.
555470
There is no such thing as abrain transplant, it is impossible because nerves which are the system of travelling pulses, cannot be repaired therefore there would be no memories transplanted.\nOnce the nerve connections are broken then the person is considered dead and cannot be revived, if it was possible then people would be woken up from the dead.
580945
I do not agree with the person below.  I personally was in a coma for months.  First, it depends why you (or who you are referring to) was in a coma.  Rehab will more than likely be needed.  Get the best rehab facility as possible.\nMore than likely there will be TBI (traumatic brain trauma).  Your age will more than like determine the healing.  \n\nMy nephew was also in a coma (not nearly as long) and came out of it way better than me.  He had to relearn how to walk and some other things. A positive factor for him was he was 19, now 20 at the time.\n\nI am still(three years later) trying to get it all together. It depends on the individual and each situation.  I wish you would have said why you were in a coma so I could give you more information.\nI would be able to tell you so much more.
1060394
When you are live and kicking you are supposed to be a conscious person but who can become unconscious at times but once the LIFE goes out and you are declared DEAD you are no more conscious that is you become permanently unconscious!!!There is on in between stage called COMA(Vegetable) stage where your breathing goes on and you are kept alive by life saving devices but you do not regain your consciousness any more and the moment the life saving support is with drawn you become NON ALIVE or DEAD .\nThere is yet one more different stage where you are conscious but in a deep coma like meditation stage and alive too but you do come back to normalcy subsequently at your own will but may be oblivious of what ever happened around you or to your body even.You may even might have gone out of your body and returned back.Hindu philosophy says that one may leave the body and enter another body and then return back to old body.
401951
A coma is a deep state of unconsciousness, during which an individual is not able to react to their environment. Someone in a coma cannot respond to any form of stimulation whatsoever. Coma can be caused by an underlying illness, or it can result from head trauma. A comatose person is still very much alive, but he or she is not simply asleep. The brain wave activity in a comatose person is very different from that of a sleeping person; you can wake up a sleeping person, you can't wake a person in a coma. A coma usually does not last for more than a few weeks. Many people recover their full physical and mental functioning when they emerge from a coma. Others require various forms of therapy to recover as much functioning as possible. Some patients never recover anything but very basic body functions.\n\nSometimes, following a coma, a person may enter what is known as a persistent vegetative state; patients in persistent vegetative state have lost all cognitive neurological function but are still able to breathe and may exhibit various spontaneous movements. They may even be awake and appear to be normal but, because the cognitive part of their brain no longer functions, they are not able to respond to their environment. A vegetative state can last for years.\n\nThere are various other terms, in addition to coma and vegetative state, that are used to describe varying levels of unconsciousness and a person's ability to respond to stimuli. These include stupor, in which a person is unconscious but will eventually respond to repeated, vigorous stimulation; and obtundation and lethargy, which are used to describe a person who is not entirely unconscious but does not respond to stimuli.\n\nUsually, coma and other altered states of unconsciousness are considered neurological emergencies, and actions need to be taken quickly to avoid permanent damage.\n\nThe Human Brain\nThe human brain is made up of three basic parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brainstem. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and makes up about 85% of the brain's total weight. It's divided into two hemispheres, the cerebral hemispheres, one on each side of the head. The cerebrum is where all of the body's most complicated mental and sensory functions are controlled - intelligence, reasoning, memory, emotions, vision, our ability to feel things, etc. The cerebellum is a smaller part of the brain that lies behind the cerebrum. It plays an essential role in coordination, posture and balance. The brainstem is the stemlike part of the brain that connects the cerebral hemispheres to the spinal cord and is responsible for controlling many basic bodily functions, such as breathing, blood pressure, and being awake and alert.\n\nUnconsciousness\nAs with most mental processes that occur in the brain, the biology of consciousness - also called arousal - is very complicated and not well understood. There are many tissues located deep within the brain that play a role in how conscious and alert a person is. Researchers believe that one of the important physiological processes that keeps a person conscious is the transfer, or neurotransmission, of chemical signals from the brainstem to the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. This continuous neurotransmission needs to be happening in order for a person to be aware of their environment. Abnormalities that interrupt it can lead to coma or other states of unconsciousness.\n\nAbnormalities that can cause coma include injury or damage to the brain that leads to swelling (edema) in the brain, which results in an increased intracranial pressure (pressure within the skull). Increased pressure, whether it is localized in one particular spot or spread over the whole brain, decreases the flow of blood and can lead to unconsciousness. Injury or damage to the brain can also cause some areas of the brain to shift within the skull and exert pressure on surrounding tissues and structures, including blood vessels
178802
Sharon is still in a coma.
641129
no it causes no memory loss hat so ever, if anything you will DIE immediately after large doses. And when you blow out th flame the gas incinerates and is no longer. So once you burn the gas... there is no gas left at ALL.\nIt just turns into something like carbon monoxide and other.
137006
yes its called "temporary amnesia" and its actually quite common.\ni think it occurs mostly when the blow to the head is in the side of the face /jaw area, but not exactly sure.\nsoo do a search for temporary amnesia check it out.
1089234
first offall what kind of question is this my god ,no one can tell , the only one that can is the one that has been killed in the gillotine and the person is dead so how  can some one tell i do know that when a persons head is cut the brain function stay functioning at least seconds but the person is in some type of coma i dont think they know anything or feel anything but if they do it last only second we cant be sure .
758681
Alot of things can cause you to go into a coma. And a heart attack is one of them. If you have a severe heart attack with a period of reduced blood flow to the brain this can cause coma. A number of other affects of poor blood flow to other organs can cause problems in the brain and coma. eg renal failure secondary to heart attack
96617
Short of developing amnesia, you will and should think of that person. Even if it is a bad memory, it is an experience that you learned from. There is not one person that doesn't have someone that has been removed from their life. It doesn't matter whether that person was a cause of pain or pleasure..they should be remembered and thought of as either having been a blessing to you or as a valuable learning experience of what you want to avoid or change in the future. Key word here is "life"..you can't live without having memories of people. These memories build the fabric of who we are and who we will become.