Dr. Kofke sumarizes Dr Adrian M Owen's (University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom) SNACC (Society of Neurosurgical Anesthesia and Critical Care) annual meeting presention on functional Magnetic Resonanace Imaging (fMRI) in patients in a persistent vegetative state (see the Etherway http://mkeamy.typepad.com/anesthesiacaucus/2007/11/awareness-in-th.html). Dr. Owen's work shows clear evidence of cognition in some of these patients. This work should cause a general re-evaluation of what is and what is not awareness even in the severely brain injured.
W A Kofke is Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Neurosurgical Anesthesia service.
