Neuroscientist Adrian Owen estimates that 20 percent of patients in a so-called "vegetative state" are, in fact, capable of communicating with the outside world. This is not a delusion. Using brain imaging techniques like fMRI, Owen — pictured above — has provided some remarkably compelling evidence that "non-responsive" and "unreachable" patients are often surprisingly cognizant of their surroundings. Now, he's pushing to put his methods in the hands of clinicians by making them mobile, affordable, and more reliable.
Over on Nature News, David Cyranoski recounts a number of Owen's incredible achievements, while exploring some of the ethical and moral implications of "finding" patients in a vegetative state. We've included an excerpt from the feature below, but you'll want to head over to Nature for the rest. It's a fantastic piece, and well worth reading in full.
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