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Medical Sciences

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Series

2019

Disorders of consciousness

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Alive Inside, Andrew Peterson, Adrian M. Owen, Jason Karlawish Jan 2019

Alive Inside, Andrew Peterson, Adrian M. Owen, Jason Karlawish

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

This article provides an ethical analysis of the U.S. practice guideline update on disorders of consciousness. Our analysis focuses on the guideline’s recommendations regarding the use of investigational neuroimaging methods to assess brain-injured patients. Complex and multifaceted ethical issues have emerged because these methods alter the clinical understanding of consciousness. We address issues of false hope, patient suffering, and cost. We argue that, in spite of these concerns, there is significant benefit to using neuroimaging to assess brain-injured patients in most cases.


The Neural Basis Of External Responsiveness In Prolonged Disorders Of Consciousness, Clara A. Stafford, Adrian M. Owen, Davinia Fernández-Espejo Jan 2019

The Neural Basis Of External Responsiveness In Prolonged Disorders Of Consciousness, Clara A. Stafford, Adrian M. Owen, Davinia Fernández-Espejo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Objective: To investigate the structural integrity of fibre tracts underlying overt motor behaviour in PDOC. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 15 PDOC patients and 22 healthy participants. Eight PDOC patients met the criteria for the vegetative state, 5 met the criteria for the minimally conscious state and 2 met the criteria for emerging from the minimally conscious state. We used fibre tractography to reconstruct the white matter fibres known to be involved in voluntary motor execution (i.e., those connecting thalamus with M1, M1 with cerebellum, and cerebellum with thalamus) and used fractional anisotropy (FA) as a measure of their integrity. …