Neuroimaging of Consciousness in the Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States

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Abstract

Differentiating reflex from voluntary activity is one of the most challenging task facing clinicians involved in the care of patients presenting disorders of consciousness such as vegetative and minimally conscious states. Behavioral assessment is considered as the main way to detect signs of consciousness but may often be complicated by verbal and motor impairments. As misdiagnosis can lead to serious consequences, especially, in terms of pain treatment and end-of-life decision-making, objective paramedical tools have to be used to assess remnant brain functioning and detect brain activity linked to consciousness. We therefore here review the current state of clinical behavioral assessment and functional neuroimaging paradigms as these may offer complementary information to bedside examination findings.

Keywords

Glasgow Coma Scale Brain Death Vegetative State Conscious State White Matter Integrity 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Caroline Schnakers
    • 1
  • Steven Laureys
    • 1
  • Melanie Boly
    • 1
  1. 1.Cyclotron Research CentreUniversity of LiègeLiègeBelgium

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