An usual combination of diffuse theta activity with intermittent bursts of spindle-like activity, followed by 2-3 Hz rhythmic discharges and lasting about 7 seconds, was noted in a coma patient after cardiac arrest. We speculate that the theta pattern coma and spindle-like bursts originated in the pontine region, and that those bursts in turn triggered or recruited rhythmic slow-wave complexes similar to absence discharges.