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Detecting consciousness: a unique role for neuroimaging.

Adrian M Owen¹

¹The Brain and Mind Institute, Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada. adrian.owen@uwo.ca

Annual Review of Psychology

|October 10, 2012

Summary

Detecting consciousness in nonresponsive patients is challenging. Neuroimaging offers new ways to infer awareness from brain activity, aiding diagnosis and prognosis in severe brain injury cases.

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Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science

Background:

Historically, consciousness is inferred from behavioral responses to stimuli.
Behavioral responses are the sole reliable indicator of awareness.
Philosophical debates on consciousness persist.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare neuroimaging's ability to infer consciousness with and without behavioral responses.
To explore the implications of neuroimaging in diagnosing consciousness in nonresponsive patients.
To address fundamental questions about consciousness and neural representation.

Main Methods:

Review of neuroimaging techniques for detecting brain activity.
Analysis of studies inferring consciousness from brain patterns.
Comparison of neuroimaging data with behavioral responses.

Main Results:

Neuroimaging can reveal thoughts, actions, and intentions via brain activity patterns.
It is used to detect consciousness in behaviorally nonresponsive patients when clinical techniques fail.
Distinguishing when neuroimaging reliably infers consciousness is crucial.

Conclusions:

Neuroimaging offers a novel approach to assessing consciousness in challenging clinical cases.
Interpreting brain activity patterns is vital for acute brain injury management.
Findings impact diagnosis, prognosis, and medical-legal decisions regarding severe brain injury.