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Nerve stimulation pulls patient out of 15-year vegetative state:
Context
- French researchers have restored a significant measure of consciousness to a brain-damaged 35-year-old car accident victim who had spent 15 years in a vegetative state.
- Currently, it is generally believed that if someone is in a vegetative state for more than a year, it’s irreversible.
vagal nerve stimulation [VNS] used by researcher
- Vagal nerve is a key pathway in brain-body circuitry. It plays a central role in a number of essential functions, including waking and alertness.
- vagus nerve stimulation has long been used as a treatment for both epilepsy and depression,
- After one month of vagal nerve stimulation [VNS], the patient’s attention, movements and brain activity significantly improved,
- brain scans revealed that VNS sparked a notable increase in a particular type of brain rhythm activity (called the “theta EEG signal”) in those regions of the brain long-linked to the control of movement, body sensation and awareness.
Some other related facts
- both coma and vegetative state patients exist in a state of continuous unawareness with respect to both themselves and their surrounding environment.
- By contrast, patients in a minimally conscious state exhibit partial or intermittent awareness of themselves and their surrounding environment, and display an ability to respond to simple instruction
- some patients with disorders of consciousness might benefit from vagus nerve stimulation
