Decorticate Posturing Brain
A number of spinal cord automatisms may emerge after bd but occurrence of decerebrate like spinal reflexes may be particularly problematic.
Decorticate posturing brain. Abnormal posturing is often an indication of certain types of injury to the brain or spinal cord. Brain herniation is an extremely dangerous condition in which parts of the brain are pushed past hard structures within the skull. Decorticate posturing is a posturing that indicates a severe damage in the brain.
Decorticate and decerebrate posturing are both considered pathological posturing responses to usually noxious stimuli from an external or internal source. Decorticate posturing is a sign of damage to the nerve pathway between the brain and spinal cord. This abnormal posturing makes a person suffer from clenched fists bent arms and legs that are held out straight.
However this is not as serious as decerebrate posture wherein the particular kind of posturing appears on both sides of one s body. Both involve stereotypical movements of the trunk and extremities and are typically indicative of significant brain or spinal injury. In herniation syndrome which is indicative of brain herniation decorticate posturing occurs and if the condition is left untreated develops into decerebrate posturing.
Let s look at the differences between the two. These two types of posturing are abnormal and are associated with a brain injury. Decorticate and decerebrate posturing are both considered pathological posturing responses to usually noxious stimuli from an external or internal source.
Decorticate posturing is a sign of severe damage in the brain injury such as damage in the cerebral hemispheres the internal capsule and the thalamus 2. Criteria for establishing brain death bd require absence of all brainstem mediated reflexes including motor ie decerebrate or decorticate posturing. Confusion of such stereotypic extension pronation movements with brain stem reflexes may confound or delay definitive diagnosis of bd.
Decorticate posturing is a type of abnormal or pathologic posturing not to be mistaken with poor posture or slouching. People who have decorticate rigidity should get medical attention right away. Decorticate posturing a sign of severe damage to the brain is a specific type of involuntary abnormal posturing of a person.
