Patients in a vegetative state show signs of emotional awareness when viewing photos of family and friends, reports PLOS ONE magazine.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University (Israel) published the results of their research, which suggest that people in a vegetative state can register and categorize complex visual stimuli and link them to their memories.
Researchers, thanks to the use of functional magnetic resonance, have shown that photos of close people (friends and family) trigger the activation of brain regions responsible for facial recognition and emotional processing in patients.
“We have shown that patients in a vegetative state may react differently to stimuli from the environment depending on their emotional value. This is not a general reaction, it is a personal and autobiographical reaction, ”comments Dr. Haggai Sharon.
Patients in a vegetative state function well on the level of reflex reactions (breathing, digestion, circulation), but it has been used to think that they are unconscious.
The results of recent studies question the legitimacy of such a position.
Some of these patients have been shown to be able to visualize complex activities (such as playing tennis) and even to be able to answer “yes” or “no” questions through their brain activity.
Now they have recorded an emotional reaction to photos of relatives.
However, scientists decided to make sure whether the stimulation of the part of the brain responsible for emotions is a spontaneous or a conscious phenomenon, so they asked the studied patients to try to imagine the faces of their parents.
In response to this command, the activation of areas related to facial recognition and processing of emotions in one woman was identical to that in healthy people. In another patient, only the emotional part of the brain was stimulated.
Interestingly, both women woke up from their condition in the next two months.
“This study shows that some patients in a vegetative state may not only be emotionally aware of their surroundings, but also experience emotions triggered by internal stimuli, like imaginary images,” adds Dr. Sharon. (PAP)