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If brain injury steals your consciousness then you are in a coma: we all know that. What is less well known is that there exist neighbouring states to the coma, in which victims keep their eyes open, but show no signs of consciousness. The vegetative state, or ‘unresponsive wakefulness syndrome’, is one in which the patient may appear to be awake, and even goes to sleep at times, but otherwise shows no reaction to the world. Patients who do inconsistently respond, such as by flinching when their name is called, or following a bright object with their eyes, are classified as in a ‘minimally conscious state’.
The fear is that, like the ‘locked-in syndrome’ that can occur after strokes, these patients may be conscious, but are just unable to show it. The opposite possibility is that these patients are as unconscious as someone in the deepest coma, with only circuitry peripheral to consciousness keeping their eyes open and producing minimal responses automatically.
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In the last 10 years, research spearheaded by cognitive neuroscientist Adrian Owen has transformed our understanding of these shadowlands of consciousness. There is now evidence, obtained using brain scans, that some patients (around one in five) in these ‘wakeful coma’ states have conscious awareness. If asked to imagine playing tennis, the brain areas specifically controlling movement become active. Using these signals a small minority of patients have even communicated with the outside world, with the brain scanner helping observers to mind-read their answers to questions.
Read full, original post: The magic of cinema unlocked one man’s coma-bound world
