system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why can we not wake somebody up from a coma?
gpt
The brain isn't asleep, which is a 'manual' coma that the brain has complete control over by adjusting certain chemical balances in the brain.

A coma is not manually driven and usually is the result of something going wrong in the brain (a damaged area, medically endued swelling, chemicals that make the brain 'turn off' that it cannot clean out properly). over time the brain might be able to repair the damage and regain control over the body and consciousness, but while it is damaged it just isn't in the position to do so.

Imagine it like a computer. There is a difference between turning your computer off and the computer short circuiting. in the former case you can just turn on the computer with a single button. In the latter case you can't turn it on until you fix whatever damage was applied to the computer, even if all other parts are working perfectly.