Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 9, 2026
Assessment and Communication for People with Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: August 1, 2017
A P300-based cognitive assessment battery
Aaron Kirschner1, Damian Cruse1, Srivas Chennu2
1The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
It is well established that some patients who are diagnosed as being in a vegetative state or a minimally conscious state show reliable signs of volition that may only be detected by measuring neural responses. A pertinent question is whether these patients are capable of higher cognitive processes.
Methods:
Here, we develop a series of EEG paradigms that probe several core aspects of cognition at the bedside without the need for motor responses and explore the sensitivity of this approach in a group of healthy controls.
Results:
Using analysis of ERPs alone, this method can determine with high reliability whether individual participants are able to attend a stimulus stream, maintain items in working memory, or solve complex grammatical reasoning problems.
Conclusion:
We suggest that this approach could form the basis of a brain-based battery for assessing higher cognition in patients with severe motor impairments or disorders of consciousness.
