Brain Recovery Functions From a Coma

Recovering brain functions after a coma depends on the cause, location and severity of damage that a person suffers. Most patients do see some improvement, yet the rate and degree of recovery remains difficult for doctors to predict. This is because every patient's recovery path is as unique as the original condition that required treatment in the first place.

Features

• Falling into a coma isn't the same thing as brain death. At its core, coma is a state of deep or profound unconsciousness. This condition is often called a persistent vegetative state. Comas may occur due to complications from an underlying medical condition, or as the result of sudden, severe head injuries. As a result, patients lose awareness of their surroundings, while normal breathing, circulation and sleeping patterns remain relatively intact.

Significance

• Responding to a coma begins with testing of vital functions.

  Assessing the potential recovery path begins with several tests to determine the nature and depth of a coma. Doctors will check brain stem function by rotating the head or squirting water into the ears, and watch any accompanying eye movements. Abnormal breathing patterns can provide another important clue, as well. Unusually rigid postures or absence of movement signal far more troubling signs of brain damage and bodily dysfunction.

Function

• Predicting the degree of recovery can be difficult. However, medical professionals agree that progress occurs within six months to two years. However, some patients may show improvement after that time frame, according to the Rehabilitation Center of Chicago. When a person starts sleeping normally, and opening their eyes, they're considered to be coming out of their coma--even if they cannot speak normally or follow commands.

Considerations

• Coma patients may require months or years of physical therapy.

  Entering the next phase, post-traumatic amnesia, presents the greatest challenges for patients and their doctors. This phase is characterized by disorientation and confusion, in which the patient doesn't know where they are nor how they got there. Agitation is another problem that may require special restraints or medications to control, the institute's summary notes. However, patients can learn basic living skills without having remembered them in the first place. This is often called procedural or implicit memory.

Warning

• Healing doesn't stop once the patient's day-to-day memory returns, which is considered the final stage of recovery. Memories that occurred shortly before an accident may never be recovered. Problems in that area may persist long after a recovery is complete. Comas rarely last more than two to four weeks, but patients may require extensive physical and cognitive therapy for months or years after emerging from recovery.