Jean- Clearly, no one knows for sure because the Ss all died before they could let us know.
However, in a paper presented at APS in Denver a couple of summers ago (sorry, I'm at home & don't have the reference) the authors reported that when they played audio tapes to Ss who had been placed under major anesthesia prior to surgery the Ss had a greater than chance (sometimes 80%) recall of the words. Since touch was, presumably, suppressed this would indicate that hearing remained intact longer. However, I know of no comparable studies examining gustation, olfaction, kinesthesia, etc. so it's a bit premature to say that audition is the winner. The response from your nursing students is typical. Medical folk are all told that hearing may be operational when other senses & motor activity appear to be absent. Surgeons, for example, are always told never to say, "Oops!" during an operation. I don't know whether this tradition is based on on science or folklore, but it is certainly practiced by all of the medical folk that I know. Hope that helps, -Don. On Tue, 18 Dec 2001, J L Edwards wrote: > Hello all... > > In my developmental psych class, a student asked a question concerning > dying: which of the senses is the last one to go? I threw the question out > to the class. Many said the sense of touch is the last remaining sense. All > of my nursing majors said they were told the sense of hearing. Anyone out > there know? > > Jean Edwards > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home for the holidays...woo hoo) > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ******************************************************************** Don Allen email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dept. of Psychology voice: (604)-323-5871 Langara College fax: (604)-323-5555 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada, V5Y 2Z6 ******************************************************************** --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
