Posted by Youtube link to access video:
Steam video recap:
1: Ask nearby persons if they know the person in seizure, or have history of seizures.
2: Call 911 and time the seizure.
3: Log roll person onto their side in a recovery position. This allows any fluid buildup in the mouth to drain out. Look for a medical bracelet or tag identifying any medical conditions.
4: Protect the person’s head by putting anything soft underneath.
5: Keep a close eye on person. After seizure, individuals will most likely be postictal, or in an altered/confused state of mind.
For my STEAM project I will be explaining the neurological disorder of seizures and how neurons play a role in this disorder. The course objective I am focusing on is how a neuron carries an electrical charge, and also how action potentials play a role in seizures. I chose this topic because I work in EMS and seizures can be very complex as to how they originated and how to care for them. For my art medium, I have made a video showing how someone with no medical background can assist someone that is having a seizure.
A neuron is a neural tissue cell responsible for generating and propagating electrical signals into, within, and out of the nervous system. A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled burst of electrical activity in the brain. It can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings and level of consciousness. Two or more of these seizures at least 24 hours apart with no known cause is considered epilepsy. Many types of seizures exist that present in different ways; a tonic-clonic seizure presents with muscle jerks and a loss of consciousness and an absent seizure can present as a blank stare and rapid eye blinking. Most seizure disorders can be controlled with medicine to prevent as well as “break” or stop a seizure.
Seizures can arise from within the body with no external factors or substances. One principle often discussed is that seizures arise when there is a disruption of mechanisms that create a balance between excitation and inhibition; there are controls that keep neurons from excessive action potential discharge. Disrupting this process by inhibiting the firing of neurons or promoting mechanisms that facilitate excitation can lead to seizures. Action potentials occur due to depolarization of the neuronal membrane, with membrane depolarization propagating down the axon to induce neurotransmitter release at the axon terminal. The action potential occurs as a concept of all or none meaning there is a firing or not. The concept of resting potential means that it allows neurons to not be constantly firing but are close enough to threshold so that it is still possible they can discharge. Because the neuron is polarized, there are more sodium ions outside the cell than inside, and more potassium inside than outside the cell. This process is critical to prevent excessive discharge which can result in seizures.
The major neurotransmitters in the brain are glutamate, gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), acetylcholine (ACh), norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and histamine. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter. The generation of an action potential is reliant on membrane depolarization that involves the influx of Na+ and outflow of K+. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter. The adult brain has both GABA-A and GABA-B receptors. GABA-A is permeable to Cl- ions. Cl- influx hyperpolarizes the membrane which inhibits action potentials. Benzodiazepines and barbiturates are GABA-A receptor agonists, and are used in multiple pre-hospital and hospital settings to suppress seizure activity.
Special note: To explain in the most simplest terms, a seizure is essentially an overload of the system. All these neurons were just charged and dumped and essentially can cause someone to shut down and restart. Think about how someone may feel after this happens; lethargic, confused, combative, depleted of nutrients, and hypoxic (lack of oxygen). I hope by explaining this and showing my video it helped some of my peers in how to help with a seizure. It can seem fairly simple but when you see it happen, it is important to remain calm and try to help if possible.
For Justin Bergs project, I learned quite a lot about basic emergency response to a person experiencing a seizure. His video demonstrated the best and most necessary steps for any bystander to follow when confronted with someone having a seizure. When we encounter a person having a seizure, we should assess our environment, ask other bystanders if they have information on the person, call 911 and gain help over the phone, roll person on their side to allow for draining of fluid and protection of airway, and adding some protection to the head until EMS responds.
A seizure is essentially an uncontrolled burst of electrical activity to the brain, with or without external factors or substances. Seizures seem to arise when there is a disruption in the homeostasis of excitation and inhibition. The major neurotransmitters of the brain include glutamate, GABA, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and histamine. Of all of those, glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter and GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. There are 2 GABA receptors, A and B, which react to chlorine ions to inhibit action potentials. These receptors are utilized to control a seizure on the way to the hospital for treatment.