MRI表明能意识到“微小的意识"(上)
NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters Health) - They may only be able to communicate with loved ones at brief moments and in the most basic ways, but high-tech brain scans suggest that patients locked in what doctors call a "minimally conscious" state are aware of the world around them.
These patients' "understanding or interaction may be greater" than it appears to family, caregivers and friends, according to Dr. Joy Hirsch, a neurologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her research is scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego, California.
Each year in the US alone, over 200,000 individuals sustain serious brain injuries that leave them with significant neurological damage. Close to half of those patients will permanently lose the ability to live and function on their own, experts say.
Some brain-damaged individuals persist for years in what is called a "vegetative" state, showing no evidence that they are aware of the external world.
Existing a step up from vegetative patients are the "minimally conscious"--individuals who display occasional, inconsistent signs of consciousness.
"For example," Hirsch said, "on one occasion a patient may be able to vocalize the name of a family member but then not be able to repeat that name for another 6 months." Or the patient might one day draw in on a straw, move their eyes in response to a question or grasp a family member's hand.
"Unfortunately, we do not know what this means in terms of the patient's (overall) level of consciousness or potential for recovery of function," Hirsch explained, and crucial questions--"Can they hear me? Do they understand?"--remain unanswered for family and friends.
Attempting to delve deeper into this mystery, the New York researchers enlisted the aid of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), an imaging technology that charts blood flow within the brain over time., 百拇医药
These patients' "understanding or interaction may be greater" than it appears to family, caregivers and friends, according to Dr. Joy Hirsch, a neurologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her research is scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego, California.
Each year in the US alone, over 200,000 individuals sustain serious brain injuries that leave them with significant neurological damage. Close to half of those patients will permanently lose the ability to live and function on their own, experts say.
Some brain-damaged individuals persist for years in what is called a "vegetative" state, showing no evidence that they are aware of the external world.
Existing a step up from vegetative patients are the "minimally conscious"--individuals who display occasional, inconsistent signs of consciousness.
"For example," Hirsch said, "on one occasion a patient may be able to vocalize the name of a family member but then not be able to repeat that name for another 6 months." Or the patient might one day draw in on a straw, move their eyes in response to a question or grasp a family member's hand.
"Unfortunately, we do not know what this means in terms of the patient's (overall) level of consciousness or potential for recovery of function," Hirsch explained, and crucial questions--"Can they hear me? Do they understand?"--remain unanswered for family and friends.
Attempting to delve deeper into this mystery, the New York researchers enlisted the aid of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), an imaging technology that charts blood flow within the brain over time., 百拇医药