Vegetative state patient aware
A woman left in a vegetative state following a car accident has shown awareness of her surroundings. Researchers led by Dr Adrian Owen of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit worked with colleagues in Belgium to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the brain activity of the woman. She was physically unresponsive and fulfilled all the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state according to international guidelines. When the team asked her to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, scans showed the woman was able to do this, activating various areas of her brain in the same way as healthy volunteers.
“These are startling results. They confirm that, despite the diagnosis of vegetative state, this patient retained the ability to understand spoken commands and to respond to them through her brain activity,” said Dr Owen. “Her decision to work with us represents a clear act of intent which confirmed beyond any doubt that she was consciously aware of herself and her surroundings.” The technique may allow doctors to identify patients who have some level of awareness, although it cannot definitively rule out awareness in unresponsive patients
Science 2007; 315: 1221