Severe brain injuries can result in long term unresponsiveness in patients, often referred to as being in a coma or vegetative state. Doctors have long wondered whether or not those patients had any level of consciousness and now they might finally have the answer.
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00:00Severe brain injuries can result in long-term unresponsiveness in patients, often referred to as being in a coma or vegetative state.
00:11Doctors have long wondered whether or not these patients had any level of consciousness, and now they might finally have the answer.
00:17The researchers used fMRI and electroencephalography brain scans and asked unresponsive patients to, quote,
00:23Imagine opening and closing your hand. They found signs of hidden consciousness in the form of brain activity which is associated with that same task in conscious individuals.
00:32They found this hidden consciousness in 60 out of the 241 patients they tested, or around 25% of them.
00:39The researchers say these findings raise critical, ethical, clinical, and scientific questions, explaining that it could help doctors develop new techniques to harness this unseen cognitive capacity,
00:49ultimately establishing a system of communication with unresponsive patients.
00:53They add this could help them discover new techniques of not only improving the lives of those who are comatose for long periods, but perhaps even new treatments for them.
01:01Jen Klassen, a neurologist from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said about the findings,
01:06We have an obligation to try to reach out to these patients and build communication bridges with them.