While it is impossible to guess what these patients are experiencing, there have been some insights gained from a new technique involving brain scanning.
A 2022 report from Parliament estimated that there may be up to 64,000 people in a vegetative or minimally conscious state in nursing homes in England and Wales. In my 20 years of science journalism, one of the subjects that I find the most fascinating is the quest to understand consciousness.
Because we don’t understand how the brain produces consciousness, nor do we have any straightforward ways to measure it, it is hard for doctors to know if such patients have any awareness, or are in any pain or distress. Someone who had been completely unaware of their surroundings, was apparently still in there and could even communicate. It was called a case of “covert consciousness”.
Media coverage of the brain scanning technique can also give false hope to relatives, as even if covert consciousness is detected, someone who has been in a vegetative state for more than a few months is highly unlikely to recover.
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