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Science 8 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5792, p. 1402
DOI: 10.1126/science.1130197
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Brevia

Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State

Adrian M. Owen,1* Martin R. Coleman,2 Melanie Boly,3 Matthew H. Davis,1 Steven Laureys,3 John D. Pickard2

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate preserved conscious awareness in a patient fulfilling the criteria for a diagnosis of vegetative state. When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient activated predicted cortical areas in a manner indistinguishable from that of healthy volunteers.

1 Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 2EF, UK.
2 Division of Academic Neurosurgery, Addenbrooke's Hospital and Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.
3 Cyclotron Research Centre and Neurology Department, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: adrian.owen{at}mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)