Brain images give clues to activity in vegetative patients

A serious illness or brain injury can put a person into a coma: a sleep-like or a vegetative state where they are awake but unaware. These disorders of consciousness are sometimes not accurately diagnosed because doctors rely on behavioural cues to make decisions, but these cues only provide a limited perspective of a person’s capacities for consciousness. Included in these disorders is the "minimally conscious state", where a patient can exhibit signs of voluntary responsiveness, simple movements like lifting a finger. If patients do show signs of responsiveness, despite limited mobility, we can use other ways to try and communicate with them.