Hidden consciousness , also known as cognitive motor dissociation , occurs in about 15 % to 25 % of patients with brain injuries stemming from head trauma , brain hemorrhage , or cardiac arrest .
Source of Hidden Consciousness in ‘ Comatose ’ Brain Injury Patients Found
Hidden consciousness , also known as cognitive motor dissociation , occurs in about 15 % to 25 % of patients with brain injuries stemming from head trauma , brain hemorrhage , or cardiac arrest .
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Columbia researchers have identified brain injuries that may underlie hidden consciousness , a puzzling phenomenon in which brain-injured patients are unable to respond to simple commands , making them appear unconscious despite having some level of awareness .
“ Our study suggests that patients with hidden consciousness can hear and comprehend verbal commands , but they cannot carry out those commands because of injuries in brain circuits that relay instructions from the brain to the muscles ,” says study leader Jan Claassen , MD , associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and chief of critical care and hospitalist neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center .
The findings could help physicians more quickly identify brain-injured patients who might have hidden consciousness and better predict which patients are likely to recover with rehabilitation .
Brain circuits disrupted in patients with hidden consciousness Hidden consciousness , also known as cognitive motor dissociation ( CMD ), occurs in about 15 % to 25 % of patients with brain injuries stemming from head trauma , brain hemorrhage , or cardiac arrest .
In previous research , Claassen and colleagues found that subtle brainwaves detectable with EEG are the strongest predictor of hidden consciousness and eventual recovery for unresponsive brain-injured patients .