Category: Consciousness

  • Sniff test predicts consciousness recovery

    Sniff test predicts consciousness recovery

    Cambridge scientist Anat Arzi and Yaron Sacher of Israel’s Beit Lowenstein Rehabilitation Center have developed a simple olfactory consciousness test. In a study, 43 unconscious brain-injured pateients were presented with jars containing various smells under their noses. Scents included pleasant shampoo, unpleasant rotten fish, and no odor. Scientists measured the volume of air inhaled through…

  • EEG identifies cognitive motor dissociation

    EEG identifies cognitive motor dissociation

    Nicholas Schiff and Weill Cornell colleagues have developed an EEG-based method for measuring the delay in brain processing of continuous natural speech in patients with severe brain injury. Study results correlated with fMRI obtained evidence, commonly used to identify the capacity to perform cognitively demanding tasks. EEG can be used for long periods, and is cheaper and…

  • Implanted vagus nerve stimulator partially reverses vegetative state

    Implanted vagus nerve stimulator partially reverses vegetative state

    A person described as being in a vegetative state for 15 years showed partial signs of consciousness after a vagus nerve stimulator was implanted.  University de Lyon’s Angele Sirigu led the research. This challenges the belief that those unconscious for more than 12 months could not be revived.   It also poses a potential challenge…

  • Ultrasound stimulates thalamus, patient regains consciousness

    Ultrasound stimulates thalamus, patient regains consciousness

    Martin Monti and UCLA colleagues have used sonic stimulation to excite thalamus neurons,  enabling a patient to recover from a coma, non-invasively. Previously, deep brain stimulation, which carries significant risk, as electrodes are implanted inside thalamus, was the only way to attempt to achieve this. The thalamus  was targeted with a low-intensity focused ultrasound, creating…