Can self-relevant stimuli help assessing patients with disorders of consciousness

Bibliographic Data

ID20410565
AuthorsRenata del Giudice (0000-0002-6037-662X, University of Salzburg), Christine Blume (0000-0003-2328-9612, University of Salzburg), Malgorzata Wislowska (0000-0001-9272-349X, University of Salzburg), Julia Lechinger (0000-0002-6325-1988, University of Salzburg), Dominik Philip Johannes Heib (0000-0002-7977-8557, University of Salzburg), Gerald Pichler (Albert Schweitzer Klinik), Johann Donis (Donauspital), Gabriele Michitsch (Donauspital), Maria-Teresa Gnjezda (University of Salzburg), Mauricio Chinchilla (Instituto de Neurologia Y Neurocirugia), Calixto Machado (0000-0002-0539-5844, Instituto de Neurologia Y Neurocirugia), Manuel Schabus (0000-0001-5899-8772, University of Salzburg, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume44
Pages51-60
Publication date2016-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueConsciousness and Cognition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1053-8100 • E-ISSN: 1090-2376
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.concog.2016.06.013
PMID27351782
OpenAlexW2461750983
LanguageEN
References cited53

Emotional and self-relevant stimuli are able to automatically attract attention and their use in patients suffering from disorders of consciousness (DOC) might help detecting otherwise hidden signs of cognition. We here recorded EEG in three Locked-in syndrome (LIS) and four Vegetative State/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (VS/UWS) patients while they listened to the voice of a family member or an unfamiliar voice during a passive. Data indicate that, in a passive listening condition, the familiar voice induces stronger alpha desynchronization than the unfamiliar one. In an active condition, the target evoked stronger alpha desynchronization in controls, two LIS patients and one VS/UWS patient. Results suggest that self-relevant familiar voice stimuli can engage additional attentional resources and might allow the detection of otherwise hidden signs of instruction-following and thus residual awareness. Further studies are necessary to find sensitive paradigms that are suited to find subtle signs of cognition and awareness in DOC patients

Active listening · Audiology · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Consciousness · Consciousness Disorders · Electroencephalography · Minimally conscious state · Persistent vegetative state · Wakefulness · Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation · Communication · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Traumatic Brain Injury Research

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