Health

New Brain Technology Lets Read Throughts Of Vegetative Patients

by Yuliya Talmazan | February 3, 2010 at 05:05 pm

1672 views | 14 Recommendations | 4 comments

A new brain scan technology that allows to read the minds of people forced into vegetative state by brain injuries is making headlines today. Researchers can now use the new brain scan to find signs of awareness and communicate with vegetative patients. In a study conducted by Cambridge and University of Liege researchers, one of the test subjects was able to answer questions with simple "yes" or "no" by visualizing specific scenes that he was asked to imagine. The two visualizations produced different brain patterns that scientists could scan. However, researchers emphasize that not all vegetative patients show signs of awareness.

The 22-year-old was asked simple questions about his life, such as "Is your father's name Alexander?" He was told to answer "yes" or "no" by thinking about one or the other of the imagined scenes about playing tennis or navigating streets or his home. For five of the six questions, his brain activity matched the correct answer.

Using the so-called functional magnetic resonance, researchers were able to detect awareness, which some people in vegetative state still have. The new technology allows for a revolutionary way to treat and care for patients in vegetative state. A testament to the importance of such technology is the case of Rom Houben from Belgium, who spent 23 years in what doctors believed was vegetative state. It turned out Houben was aware of his surroundings all this time, but could not let anyone know because he was paralyzed. It was not until Dr. Steven Laureys detected Houben's brain activity that his condition was discovered.

Immediately after the news of the new technology broke, questions arose about the possible repercussions of such brain reading technology and whether the thoughts of healthy people can also be read? While researchers do not address that question, it seems unlikely that the thoughts of healthy people can be read this way just yet. First of all, visualizations used to read thoughts need instruction from moderators and can't be done without the knowledge of the test subject. Moreover, the brain activity of a healthy person is so dynamic, the tracking software must be able to record very complex changes in thought patterns. However, the brain scan technology is in its infancy right now, and one never knows where it will lead us in the future.

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stejeb

at 17:43 on February 3rd, 2010

This could eventually help towards making the painful decision about whether or not to stop sustaining a persons life in those circumstances.

Uwe Paschen

at 19:28 on February 3rd, 2010

That would be extremely helpful if we could expand on this research.

The University of Cambridge in the UK and l' Université de Liège in Belgium can be fund on the above links and this research can be accessed through those links in detail.

Great news, thank you.

harringtola

at 19:44 on February 3rd, 2010

Very interesting and certainly begs the answer to the question of the ability to read the thoughts of healthy fully alert people. I would bet that the answer is 'yes'. For me, the advantage of being able to determine any conscious state for people who appear to be unable to have conscious thought, and the hope that they could have a more meaningful existence, far outweighs any risk in that area.

Bill H. (not verified)

at 13:29 on March 16th, 2010

I wish this had been available for my fathers last few days. He fell , and it all ended with a lot of unanswered questions. I think my mom pushed him , though there is no way to prove it now. She had him creamated and destroyed his will , taking anything he may have wanted told with it.