Mimicking Conditions
Curare poisoning mimics a total locked-in syndrome by causing paralysis of all voluntarily controlled skeletal muscle. The respiratory muscles are also paralyzed, but the victim can be kept alive by artificial respiration, such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In a study of 27 army volunteers who were paralyzed with curare, artificial respiration managed to keep an oxygen saturation of always above 85%, a level at which there is no evidence of altered state of consciousness. Spontaneous breathing is resumed after the end of the duration of action of curare, which is generally between 30 minutes and eight hours, depending on the variant of the toxin and dosage.
Read more about this topic: Locked-in Syndrome
Famous quotes containing the words mimicking and/or conditions:
“Are you genuine? Or just an actor? A representative? Or what it is that is represented?—In the end, you might merely be someone mimicking an actor ... Second question of conscience.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Any man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)