Oxygen based neurotransmitters in the synapses of the brain are proposed to play 
an important role in the generation of consciousness. They include the amino 
acids glutamate and GABA which use Krebs cycle precursors for their synthesis, 
and the monoamines dopamine, noradrenalin, adrenalin and serotonin, which are 
derived from tyrosine and tryptophan. During ischemia after an acute brain 
injury, a GABA surge often initiates brain suppression. It has been proposed 
that with chronic ischemia, a secondary, possibly epigenetic response occurs 
when neurotransmitters deplete, a glucose and oxygen saving mechanism termed 
neurodormancy that may invoke alternative long term low energy metabolic 
pathways in the brain, encountered in Disorders of Consciousness. Some 
medications can reverse Disorders of Consciousness in some patients. Virtually 
all of them act on neurotransmitter systems that use oxygen as a building block 
or as an energy source within the brain. Pharmaceuticals that act in the oxygen 
based amino acid systems of the brain include the GABAergic medications zolpidem 
and baclofen, while those that act in the monoamine axes include the 
dopaminergic medications L Dopa, amantadine, bromocriptine, apomorphine and 
methylphenidate, and the noradrenergic and serotonergic medications desipramine, 
amitriptyline, protriptyline and fluoxetine. Another group are the 
cholinesterase inhibitors, responsible for increasing acetylcholine, which is 
synthesized from the Krebs cycle initiator, acetyl CoA. It appears that 
pharmaceuticals that are active in the oxygen based neurotransmitter pathways of 
the brain are successful to arouse to consciousness patients that suffer from 
its disorders. Research needs to be supported as foundation to understand the 
biochemical mechanisms that are involved in consciousness disorders and to 
explore further the pharmacological treatment possibilities for these 
devastating neurological conditions.