Dear Editor,Coma, the vegetative state （VS）, and the minimally- conscious state （MCS）, often collectively referred to as disorders of consciousness （DOCs）, typically occur after severe traumatic or non-traumatic...Dear Editor,Coma, the vegetative state （VS）, and the minimally- conscious state （MCS）, often collectively referred to as disorders of consciousness （DOCs）, typically occur after severe traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury [1]. The boundary between awareness and unawareness remains elusive, making it difficult to correctly distinguish MCS from VS patients. It is possible to employ noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as functional MRI （fMRI） [2] to assess residual cognitive processing as well as consciousness. However, the causal link between neural activity in specific brain areas and specific behavioral tasks is hard to dissect using fMRI [3]. Therefore, detecting residual cognitive function and consciousness in patients surviving severe brain injury remains extremely challenging.展开更多
基金supported by the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(2015A030313609)the Guangzhou Municipal Project for Science and Technology Foundation(201508020253)
文摘Dear Editor,Coma, the vegetative state （VS）, and the minimally- conscious state （MCS）, often collectively referred to as disorders of consciousness （DOCs）, typically occur after severe traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury [1]. The boundary between awareness and unawareness remains elusive, making it difficult to correctly distinguish MCS from VS patients. It is possible to employ noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as functional MRI （fMRI） [2] to assess residual cognitive processing as well as consciousness. However, the causal link between neural activity in specific brain areas and specific behavioral tasks is hard to dissect using fMRI [3]. Therefore, detecting residual cognitive function and consciousness in patients surviving severe brain injury remains extremely challenging.
