Locked-In syndrome

Locked-in syndrome is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes. Total locked-in syndrome is a version of locked-in syndrome where the eyes are paralyzed as well. The term for this disorder was coined by Fred Plum and Jerome Posner in 1966. Locked-in syndrome is also known as cerebromedullospinal disconnection, de-efferented state, pseudocoma, and ventral pontine syndrome. Locked-in syndrome usually results in quadriplegia and the inability to speak in otherwise cognitively intact individuals. Those with locked-in syndrome may be able to communicate with others through coded messages by blinking or...