Hi,I am Dr. Carol Rogala (Emergency Medicine). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
my mom had a heart attack and was without oxygen for 7 minutes she was in a coma and never regained consciousness in the hospital she once had both her eyes moving when we was talking to her do you think she was moving them the neurologist seemed to think it was invountary
Fri, 4 Jul 2014
Emergency Medicine Specialist, Dr. Prathap's Response
Eye movements a controlled by cranial nerves ( nerves coming from the brain). Normally when a stimulus like sound/smell is given the brain receives it analysis it and signals the cranial nerves( CN 3,4 and 6) to activate the eye muscles to turn/rotate your eyeball to see to the particular side. Any brain injury can cause loss of functions of these cranial nerves which in turn causes loss of function of eye muscles leading to loss of eye movements. Now ans to your qn- a person in coma is well have a brain injury leading to loss a ability to analysis which inturn causes loss of cranial nerve stimulation and loss of voluntary eye movements. Involuntary movement of the eye could be due to random spontaneous stimulation of the cranial nerves.
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Were The Eye Movements Voluntary Or Involuntary?
Eye movements a controlled by cranial nerves ( nerves coming from the brain). Normally when a stimulus like sound/smell is given the brain receives it analysis it and signals the cranial nerves( CN 3,4 and 6) to activate the eye muscles to turn/rotate your eyeball to see to the particular side. Any brain injury can cause loss of functions of these cranial nerves which in turn causes loss of function of eye muscles leading to loss of eye movements. Now ans to your qn- a person in coma is well have a brain injury leading to loss a ability to analysis which inturn causes loss of cranial nerve stimulation and loss of voluntary eye movements. Involuntary movement of the eye could be due to random spontaneous stimulation of the cranial nerves.