Hidden Consciousness Detected in 25% of Unresponsive Patients Tested
Hidden Consciousness Detected in 25% of Unresponsive Patients Tested
Up to one in four patients who are unresponsive after suffering serious brain injuries might actually still be conscious – indicating more patients may be aware of their surroundings than previously realized, new research suggests.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18838026
Up to one in four patients who are unresponsive after suffering serious brain injuries might actually still be conscious – indicating more patients may be aware of their surroundings than previously realized, new research suggests.
This state of 'hidden consciousness' is now officially known as cognitive motor dissociation (CMD), where cognitive (or thinking) abilities aren't connected to motor (or movement) abilities. Researchers have been looking into CMD for several years.
However, 62 percent of an additional 112 patients who were visibly responding to instructions at the bedside didn't exhibit the expected brain signals showing responsiveness – so the researchers suggest their methods still don't detect everyone with cognitive function.
However, 62 percent of an additional 112 patients who were visibly responding to instructions at the bedside didn't exhibit the expected brain signals showing responsiveness – so the researchers suggest their methods still don't detect everyone with cognitive function.
AKA: kinda bullshit science. ~50% of the time they're seeing the wrong thing? That's not even in the range of what people would consider to be a hypothesis I'd say.
I wouldn't call it bullshit, it's the media cycle trying to find interesting research for profitable articles that spun the bullshit. This is likely a secondary study on the way to scientifically measuring consciousness. "Publish or perish" type shit.
Yeah, brains are weird. I'm glad they included this flip side of the study.
I can’t imagine a greater hell than being trapped in my own mind without the ability to move or communicate. This is interesting and unsettling at the same time.
Well that's kinda terrifying. Being "locked in" is one of the scarier things I can imagine, and it sounds like it might be a lot more common than we thought.
Yeah, have been in the room with a comatose person. Some people are good at just dumping out a one-sided conversation, but not me. The inclusion of the percentage of people who were clearly responsive but whose brain scans didn't indicate the expected activity is really important to take note of though. Really does need more study to refine our understanding.
This is very scary.
Someone send this to the Black Mirror crew for a new episode idea.
John Scalzi’s got you covered:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-scalzi/lock-in/
Metallica did it.
right?