Locked-In syndrome

Locked-In syndrome, is the result of a brain stem stroke where the ventral part of the brainstem is damaged. It results in quadraplegia and inability to speak in otherwise cognitively intact individuals. Those with Locked-In syndrome are able to communicate to the outside world by coding messages by blinking or moving their eyes.

Related Topics:
Brain stem - Stroke - Quadraplegia - Speak

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One interesting aspect of being "locked-in" is the emotional state of the individuals. They report feeling mostly tranquil, and some report feeling a little sad. This is contrary to the panic and terror that would be expected in people who cannot move or speak. This indicates that emotions are due to interpertations of body sensations, since those who are locked-in have no bodily feeling the brain receives messages of tranquillity.

Related Topics:
Emotional state - Emotions

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Patients who have Locked-In Syndrome are fully aware. They will know exactly were their arms and legs are, and unlike being paralyzed, they can feel the pain of a needle, or the touch of a cat still.

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Parisian journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby had a stroke in 1995, and when he awoke 20 days later he found that his body had all but stopped working: he could only control his left eyelid. By blinking his eye he dictated a word at a time and in this way he wrote The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

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Also Known as: Cerebromedullospinal Disconnection, De-Efferented State, Pseudocoma, ventral pontine syndrome.

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