Detecting awareness in the vegetative state.

@article{Owen2006DetectingAI,
  title={Detecting awareness in the vegetative state.},
  author={Adrian M. Owen and Martin R. Coleman and M{\'e}lanie Boly and Matthew H. Davis and Steven Laureys and John D. Pickard},
  journal={Science},
  year={2006},
  volume={313 5792},
  pages={
          1402
        }
}
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers. 
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Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State
TLDR
In several recent cases, so‐called “activation” studies have been used to identify residual cognitive function and even conscious awareness in patients who are assumed to be vegetative, yet retain cognitive abilities that have evaded detection using standard clinical methods.
Disorders of consciousness: Diagnostic accuracy of brain imaging in the vegetative state
  • A. Owen
  • Psychology
    Nature Reviews Neurology
  • 2014
TLDR
A new report compares the diagnostic accuracy of two neuroimaging methods, using bedside behavioural assessment as a reference, and highlights the many theoretical and methodological challenges in studying this patient group.
Response to Comments on "Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State"
Additional data, supported by relevant functional neuroimaging literature, confirm that the “normal” patterns of brain activity reported in a patient who was clinically diagnosed as vegetative could…
Is There Awareness in the Vegetative State
In the vegetative state, patients appear to be awake but show no signs of awareness. A British team used functional MRI to study brain function in a
Is She Conscious?
Brain imaging reveals unexpected activity in a patient clinically diagnosed as being in a vegetative state, raising questions about the properties of consciousness.
Comment on "Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State"
TLDR
It is argued that the presence of task-specific brain activation in response to verbal command implies both covert conscious awareness and a capacity for intention and neither can be securely inferred from the evidence presented.
Neuroimaging, impaired states of consciousness, and public outreach
Functional neuroimaging is emerging as a novel tool to evaluate patients with disorders of consciousness. This Viewpoint looks at one of the most vexing ethical challenges resulting from this…
Measurements of consciousness in the vegetative state
The Search for Consciousness
Electrophysiology in Disorders of Consciousness: From Conventional EEG Visual Analysis to Brain-Computer Interfaces
TLDR
This chapter focuses on the state of knowledge regarding the implementation of electroencephalography for diagnosis and prognosis in clinical setting, as well as the current effort for developing more reliable methods for assessing severely brain-injured patients with altered state of consciousness.
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References

Residual cerebral activity and behavioural fragments can remain in the persistently vegetative brain.
TLDR
The variations in cerebral metabolism in chronic PVS patients indicate that some cerebral regions can retain partial function in catastrophically injured brains.