Brain injury and awareness
Patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) following brain injury were given specific stimuli and the responses of their brains were measured by brain functional brain imaging. The patients' brains showed appropriate responses to specific stimuli, suggesting that conscious awareness was retained. This study may influence the diagnostic criteria for PVS.
The paper 'Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State' was published in 'Science' on 8 September 2006 (volume 313, no. 5792, p. 1402).
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Image credit: Mark Lythgoe and Chloe Hutton