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Identifying Covert Cognition in Disorders of Consciousness

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Coma and Disorders of Consciousness

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Abstract

Several recent studies examining different aspects of residual cognitive function in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) have shown that multiple tasks and modalities provide the best opportunity for patients to demonstrate covert awareness where it exists. With a wide range of etiologies and comorbidities, this is a very diverse population with variable cognitive and behavioral abilities. Additional challenges include the availability of specific technology as well as the eligibility of individual patients to be assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or electroencephalography (EEG). A number of paradigms, in different modalities, have been developed in recent years to assess aspects of residual cognitive function in DOC patients. These include basic auditory, visual, and tactile processing, speech-specific processes, selective attention, executive function, and command following. The results confirm that preserved brain function in DOC may take a wide variety of forms, from basic auditory processing all the way up to preserved command following and communication.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by generous awards to Adrian M. Owen from the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) Program, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), and the James S. McDonnell Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, N6A 5B7

    Laura E. González-Lara & Adrian M. Owen

Authors
  1. Laura E. González-Lara
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  2. Adrian M. Owen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adrian M. Owen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research, Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona, California, USA

    Caroline Schnakers

  2. GIGA Consciousness, Coma Science Group & Neurology Department, Liège, Belgium

    Steven Laureys

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González-Lara, L.E., Owen, A.M. (2018). Identifying Covert Cognition in Disorders of Consciousness. In: Schnakers, C., Laureys, S. (eds) Coma and Disorders of Consciousness. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55964-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55964-3_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55963-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55964-3

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