See also Unconscious mind. Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind.

Unconsciousness, more appropriately referred to as loss of consciousness or lack of consciousness, is a dramatic alteration of mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the Being in a comatose state or coma is an illustration of unconsciousness. In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a decrease of the oxygen supply to the brain is an illustration of a temporary loss of consciousness. Loss of consciousness must not be confused with altered states of consciousness, such as delirium (when the person is confused and only partially responsive to the environment), normal sleep, hypnosis, and other altered states in which the person responds to stimuli. An altered state of consciousness, (ASC also named altered state of mind is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking Beta wave state Delirium is an acute and relatively sudden (developing over hours to days decline in attention-focus perception and Cognition. Sleep is a Natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom Hypnosis is often thought to be a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility with diminished peripheral awareness

Loss of consciousness should not be confused with the notion of the psychoanalytic unconscious or cognitive processes (e. Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind. g. , implicit cognition) that take place outside of awareness.

Loss of consciousness may occur as the result of traumatic brain injury, brain hypoxia (e. Traumatic brain injury (TBI also called intracranial injury, occurs when Physical trauma injures the Brain. Chronic Hypoxia is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole ( generalized hypoxia) or region of the body ( tissue hypoxia) is deprived of adequate g. , due to a brain infarction or cardiac arrest), severe poisoning with drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system (e. In Medicine, an infarction is the process resulting in a Macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate Blood supply g. , alcohol and other hypnotic or sedative drugs), severe fatigue, and other causes.

Law and medicine

In jurisprudence, unconsciousness may entitle the criminal defendant to the defense of automatism, an excusing condition which allows a defendant to argue that they should not be held criminally liable for what would otherwise have been actions or omissions which broke the law. Jurisprudence is the Theory and Philosophy of Law. Scholars of jurisprudence or legal philosophers hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature A defendant or defender ( Δ in Legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the Complaint of a Plaintiff In most Litigation under the Common law Adversarial system the Defendant, perhaps with the assistance of counsel, may allege or present For a more detailed discussion of individual topics see Automatism (case law In the Criminal Law, automatism is a defense to liability In Jurisprudence, an excuse or justification is a form of immunity that must be distinguished from an exculpation. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment In Philosophy, action has developed into a sub-field called Philosophy of action. In the Criminal law, an omission, or failure to act will constitute an Actus reus ( Latin for "guilty act" and give rise to liability Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Courts are called upon to consider whether "falling asleep" (especially while driving or during any other safety-critical activity) can be an acceptable defense because natural sleep rarely overcomes an ordinary person without warning; however incidents related to epileptic seizures, neurological dysfunctions and sleepwalking may be considered acceptable excusing conditions because the loss of control may not be foreseeable. Driving is the controlled operation of a land Vehicle, usually a Motor vehicle such as a Truck or a car. Sleepwalking (also called somnambulism or noctambulism) is a Parasomnia or Sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in For a detailed discussion, see automatism (case law). In Criminal law, automatism is a complex and sometimes controversial Excuse to liability where physical or environmental factors negate the existence

On the other hand, someone who is less than fully conscious cannot give consent to anything. Consent as a term of jurisprudence is a possible defence (an Excuse or justification against civil or criminal liability This is relevant in the case of sexual behavior (not allowed with such a person), and also in the case of a patient giving informed consent with regard to starting or stopping a treatment, and euthanasia. Human sexual behavior or different human sexual practices encompass a wide range of activities such as strategies to find or attract partners ( Mating and display Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given Consent based upon an appreciation and understanding of the facts implications Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner

In many countries, First Responders, EMT, or Paramedics must legally obtain consent from a conscious casualty during an emergency before they can assume patient care. If consent is denied, the EMS provider can legally do nothing. In the situation where the casualty is unconscious, in most cases, the EMS provider can assume patient care under the legal assumption of implied consent.

Religion

Some Christians believe that after death, the "soul" enters an unconscious state before resurrection at the Last Judgment, a belief known informally as soul sleep. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived See also Intermediate state In Christian theology, soul sleep is a belief that the Soul sleeps unconsciously between the Death of the

See also

• Fainting
• Coma
• Brownout or greyout, a partial loss of consciousness
• Traumatic brain injury
• Consciousness
• Sleep
• Hypnosis
• Do Not Resuscitate
• Living will
• Shallow water blackout
• Somnophilia

In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. A brownout, or grey-out, is a transient loss of vision characterised by a perceived dimming of light accompanied by a brown hue and a loss of peripheral vision Traumatic brain injury (TBI also called intracranial injury, occurs when Physical trauma injures the Brain. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the Sleep is a Natural state of bodily rest observed throughout the animal kingdom Hypnosis is often thought to be a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility with diminished peripheral awareness A Do Not Resuscitate, or DNR order is a written order from a doctor that Resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac Advance health care directives or advance directives are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event that they are A shallow water blackout is a loss of consciousness caused by Cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water typically shallower than five Somnophilia (from Latin 'somnus' = sleep and Greek φιλία '-philia' = love or sleeping princess syndrome or Sleeping Beauty syndrome, is a Paraphilia

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