(Medical Xpress) – The very thought of being ‘locked in’ following a brain injury or even aware during general anesthesia induces fear because it awakens the classic terror trope of being buried alive. But what does it mean to be awake, but entirely unable to respond, and what can this tell us about consciousness itself?
In a new paper published in the journal Lancet Neurology, Western University neuroscientist Adrian Owen and his colleagues at Western, Lawson Health Research Institute and Harvard University describe new developments in the field of neuroimaging that can reveal the thoughts, actions and intentions of brain-injured individuals based solely on the pattern of activity observed in their brain.
Most importantly, this breakthrough can be used to predict survival rates of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. CONTINUE