FMRI study shows 'Vegetative' patients may not necessarily be unconscious :: Life Issues

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February 10, 2010

FMRI study shows 'Vegetative' patients may not necessarily be unconscious

Topics: Health Issues, Life Issues

Ed Morrissey has the CNN video and offers commentary on the recent FMRI study of so-called "vegetative" patients that could indeed change all of our perceptions on the victims of tramautic brain damage, as well as offer a ray of hope for the families of those who remain trapped but conscious inside unresponsive bodies.

Ed writes:

The study in Cambridge showed that 17% of patients assumed to have no brain activity beyond involuntary impulses actually show cognitive understanding using an MRI to map brain responses to questions asked by researchers. None of the 17% had brain injury due to hypoxia, the underlying cause of the injury to Terri Schiavo (link inserted), whose case became a national political crisis a few years ago, but the implications of this study are still horrific ...