Call us: 1.877.283.7882 | Monday–Friday: 8:00 AM–4:30 PM ET
Category: General Health
A team of European neuroscientists recently conducted a series of tests that suggest that patients thought to be in a vegetative state may be able to show some signs of consciousness.
Researchers from the Medical Research Council, the Wolfson Brain Imaging Center and the University of Liege used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) test to scan the brains of 54 patients who were diagnosed as being in a vegetative state due to brain stem stroke, traumatic brain injury or meningitis, according to Health Day.
The brain scans of five patients showed that they could "willfully modulate their brain activity" when asked to think about hitting a tennis ball or walk around the neighborhood. Additional tests found that three of those five participants could follow commands, showing some level of awareness.
"Behavior is not always a good measure of consciousness," said lead study author Martin Monti, quoted by the news source. "fMRI seems to be one way of determining if a patient who is not responsive behaviorally is, in fact, conscious."
Researchers hope that at some point in the future brain scans may enable some level of communication with those in a vegetative state.
Related Articles from Private MD:
Subscribe to Private MD Health News RSS Feed:
News Categories:
Advanced Lipid Treatment I Allergy Testing Anemia and RBC disorders Autoimmune Diseases Bariatric Lab Testing Blood and Blood Diseases Breast Cancer Detection and Tumor Markers Celiac Disease Testing Chlamydia Coagulation and blood clotting disorders Colon Diabetes DNA, Paternity and Genetic testing Drug Screening Environmental Toxin Testing Female Specific Tests Gastrointestinal Diseases General Health General Wellness Heart Health and Cholesterol Herpes HIV HIV monitoring/Treatment/Testing/Post Diagnos Hormones and Metabolism Infectious Diseases Infertility Testing-Male Infertitlity Hormone Testing Kidney Diseases Leukemia and WBC disorders Liver Liver Diseases Lyme Disease Male Specific Tests Menopause/Peri-Menopausal Diagnosis Musculoskeletal Diseases Organ Specific Testing Ovarian Prostate Sexually Transmitted Diseases Thyroid Diseases Transgender Hormone Testing-female to male Transgender Hormone Testing-Male to Female Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment
Visit the Health News Archive: Click Here
Questions about online blood testing or how to order a lab test? Click here to get started or call us toll-free at 1.877.283.7882. Our professionals are ready to assist you.
Back to top