Analysis of awareness and vigilance as main components of consciousness in selected brain disorders

Consciousness is a state in which we are able to interact with our external environment. Each person has their own way of interpreting and processing their surrounding environment and will have their own unique responses. The two major components that make up our conscious mind are awareness and vigilance. When one of these is compromised it generally leads to decreased cognitive processing of the external environment which in turn leads to the different disorders of consciousness. The inner workings of consciousness still remain a mystery. However, research is still ongoing into understanding the different correlates, behavioral and neural, that may be involved. In addition, further sleep studies may help bridge the gap between wakefulness and non-wakefulness and thus shed light on altering levels of consciousness. Furthermore, classifying the different types of disorders without any doubt still remains problematic due to the fact that the gold standard for diagnosis is still at bedside. Approximately 40% of patients are misdiagnosed due to the lack of proper imaging techniques. Research into more advanced imaging can open the window to better patient prognosis. It is imperative that these patients are diagnosed correctly as early as possible in order to receive the appropriate care.