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Science September 2006 PMID 16959998

Detecting awareness in the vegetative state.

Adrian M Owen, Martin R Coleman, Melanie Boly, Matthew H Davis, Steven Laureys, John D Pickard

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Mentions

140
Peak: 4 in Sep 2023
across 6 sources since Mar 2019

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AI synopsis

What people are saying

Overall, the discussions show strong support for the article’s significance, with many referencing prior studies like Owen et al. (2006), and exploring implications for our understanding of consciousness and brain activity. The tone varies from scientific admiration to philosophical debates, illustrating both the technical impact and deeper questions raised by the research.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most discussions acknowledge the significance of Owen et al.'s findings, with some referencing prior work and emphasizing the scientific progress made.

InterestHigh interest

Participants demonstrate high curiosity, discussing implications for philosophy, neuroscience, and patient awareness, especially highlighting the novel techniques like fMRI.

EngagementModerate engagement

Posts engage with complex ideas, scientific evidence, and debates around consciousness, showing thoughtful analysis rather than superficial comments.

ImpactHigh impact

Discussions suggest that this research could have a profound influence on medical approaches, ethical considerations, and the understanding of consciousness in vegetative states.

Abstract in brief

  • The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether a patient diagnosed with a vegetative state showed signs of conscious awareness.
  • When asked to imagine playing tennis or moving around her home, the patient’s brain activated areas similar to those in healthy individuals, indicating preserved awareness.
  • This suggests that some patients in a vegetative state may retain a level of conscious awareness that is detectable through brain imaging techniques.]
Read the full abstract

Top posts

Most liked on X and Bluesky
Isaac King
@IsaacKing314 · X

https://t.co/KKXGPb7aeX

Aug 25, 2025 · 16 likes · 3,879 followers View post →
Sakıncalı Medrese :.
@227_sm · X

Bununla ilgili bir kaynak için bkz. Owen et al. (2006, Science), “Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State.” Bunun felsefi anlamıyla ilgili de şu çıkarıma varırız: Bu, bilincin ölçülebilir davranışla özdeşleştirilemeyeceğini gösterir; “bilinç = beyin aktivitesi” bağı zayıflar.

Nov 13, 2025 · 7 likes · 24,018 followers View post →
Colin Camerer
@CFCamerer · X

Has been known since 2006, in an amazing piece of neuroscience*. What’s new here is the very large sample size. *dramatic and complicated example of Gazzaniga “don’t ask the person, ask the brain” https://t.co/3E1fUQFose https://t.co/ONAziGn06K

Aug 14, 2024 · 3 likes · 15,839 followers View post →
Today is October 7th
@realChaim_Rubin · X

@mccormicky @kweansmom . With newest detection it is proven that people nonresponsive even for years are awake &aware https://t.co/HSwy1gcHoo https://t.co/NJ3VOc2c4j

Dec 19, 2021 · 3 likes · 1,674 followers View post →
檜山 省吾
@love_Xiao2019 · X

Detecting awareness in the vegetative state. https://t.co/855boiIxoV まさしく。なんでこんな大事なことしらなかったのか

Sep 19, 2023 · 3 likes · 321 followers View post →
Lily Chau
@_lilychau · X

@Neuro_Skeptic Still working on the neuroscientist part. When I was a neurology resident, I was inspired by my patients in the neuro ICU and found a paper by Owen et al. (2006): https://t.co/Lwbx3XhotZ

May 9, 2023 · 3 likes · 92 followers View post →

All mentions

Sakıncalı Medrese :.
@227_sm · X

Bununla ilgili bir kaynak için bkz. Owen et al. (2006, Science), “Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State.” Bunun felsefi anlamıyla ilgili de şu çıkarıma varırız: Bu, bilincin ölçülebilir davranışla özdeşleştirilemeyeceğini gösterir; “bilinç = beyin aktivitesi” bağı zayıflar.

Nov 13, 2025 · 7 likes · 24,018 followers View post →
Isaac King
@IsaacKing314 · X

https://t.co/KKXGPb7aeX

Aug 25, 2025 · 16 likes · 3,879 followers View post →
Qfe
@dr_qfe · X

@smartus001 Haberde, Owen et al. (2006) – Detecting awareness in the vegetative state Makalesine yer verilmiş mi?

Aug 4, 2025 · 590 followers View post →
Elena Postigo
@PostigoElena · X

@gemagoldie @BioTay https://t.co/RIAOnO5JdU

Sep 11, 2024 · 1 like · 18,598 followers View post →
Elena Postigo
@PostigoElena · X

@gemagoldie @BioTay Esto no es nuevo. Ya el Dr Owen, neurofisiológico de Cambridge, lo demostró en sus estudios hace 2 décadas. Cambia el método y el instrumento pero ya se sabía: https://t.co/91pUgUL26H He seguido este asunto por mi tesis sobre muerte cerebral, coma y Estado vegetativo.

Sep 11, 2024 · 1 like · 18,598 followers View post →
InformationBot
@InformationBot0 · X

@MalufNicolau @StuartHameroff https://t.co/IkatBX6o50 -'Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State: Electroencephalographic Evidence for Attempted Movements to Command'

Aug 28, 2024 · 1 like · 622 followers View post →
Umberto León Domínguez
@umbertoleon · X

@Arcanedelosrios @bigotebasao Total, pero este es peor, Milei por lo menos te dice a la cara lo que va a hacer... este esle artículo seminal https://t.co/vDY1MklU4L

Aug 27, 2024 · 5,268 followers View post →
Colin Camerer
@CFCamerer · X

Has been known since 2006, in an amazing piece of neuroscience*. What’s new here is the very large sample size. *dramatic and complicated example of Gazzaniga “don’t ask the person, ask the brain” https://t.co/3E1fUQFose https://t.co/ONAziGn06K

Aug 14, 2024 · 3 likes · 15,839 followers View post →
Prof. Adrian M. Owen OBE, FRS
@Comadork · X

We have shown previously that neuroimaging techniques like command-following tasks, passive processing, and resting-state methods offer new ways to assess brain function after chronic brain injury @ScienceMagazine https://t.co/7KATJZyeuB

Jul 19, 2024 · 5,916 followers View post →
Gabriel Belmar
@elareadebroca.bsky.social · Bluesky

Cruse D, Chennu S, Fernández-Espejo D, Payne WL, Young GB, Owen AM (2012) Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State: Electroencephalographic Evidence for Attempted Movements to Command. PLoS ONE 7(11)

Jan 23, 2024 View post →
Ryoichi WATANABE, PhD.
@watanaberkyoto · X

Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State | Science https://t.co/ksWudJ8jdr

Nov 16, 2023 · 3,787 followers View post →
InformationBot
@InformationBot0 · X

@B_Hutchy @mikeamark @EssentiaFounda1 https://t.co/sow3Vobb1K - Animals are conscious as well plants have a sense of self. There are specific patters of electrical activity associated with consciousness.

Sep 28, 2023 · 622 followers View post →
江川悟史 | Satoshi Egawa, MD, PhD, FNCS
@Satoshi_Egawa · X

fMRIでCMDを特定した症例の報告。 ”テニスをしているところ” ”家の中を歩き回るところ" を想像させてみたときの変化がFig.1で見れます

Sep 27, 2023 · 2 likes · 1,853 followers View post →
檜山 省吾
@love_Xiao2019 · X

Detecting awareness in the vegetative state. https://t.co/855boiIxoV まさしく。なんでこんな大事なことしらなかったのか

Sep 19, 2023 · 3 likes · 321 followers View post →
Richard Cashmore
@RMJCashmore · X

The hidden > Covert awareness fMRI https://t.co/0NL4ApAiXW

Sep 5, 2023 · 264 followers View post →
Fernando de Castro S
@FdeCastroS · X

@msmelanoma @el_pais ¡Magnífico...! No nos olvidemos de este increíble hallazgo de #AdrianOwen en 2007: https://t.co/E4h9lncyFl

Jul 27, 2023 · 1 like · 3,002 followers View post →
Lily Chau
@_lilychau · X

@Neuro_Skeptic Still working on the neuroscientist part. When I was a neurology resident, I was inspired by my patients in the neuro ICU and found a paper by Owen et al. (2006): https://t.co/Lwbx3XhotZ

May 9, 2023 · 3 likes · 92 followers View post →
InformationBot
@InformationBot0 · X

@Warrazapha @DeedeeFreeze @Philip_Goff As far as medical science defines consciousness. https://t.co/sow3Vobb1K

Nov 20, 2022 · 622 followers View post →
Rosaura Brisuela @roswitta.bsky.social
@Roswitamind · X

Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State https://t.co/6rxUbB9efD

Oct 24, 2022 · 1,284 followers View post →
Kyung-Bok Boo
@kyungbokboo · X

Detecting awareness in the 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. https://t.co/7kgsFODnov https://t.co/kQ3XA5iAjA

Aug 10, 2022 · 1,165 followers View post →
Laura Inés Martínez Pinilla
@Ines39698042 · X

@alf_Astudillo https://t.co/mBHPN9I0nZ

Mar 4, 2022 · 1 like · 1 share · 569 followers View post →
Thomas F. Varley
@ThosVarley · X

@patrickmineault @Comadork No, the resolution is much too slow. In this case, fMRI is used as a communication channel - patients can answer yes or no questions by visualizing different activities associated with distinct patterns of activation. https://t.co/3WMfdFKfo6

Feb 18, 2022 · 2 likes · 4,434 followers View post →
Today is October 7th
@realChaim_Rubin · X

@mccormicky @kweansmom . With newest detection it is proven that people nonresponsive even for years are awake &aware https://t.co/HSwy1gcHoo https://t.co/NJ3VOc2c4j

Dec 19, 2021 · 3 likes · 1,674 followers View post →
Hiro Hamada 濱田太陽 | Health is King
@HiroTHamadaJP · X

さらに押し進めて、より時間解像度の高いfMRIをして、 「テニスをする想像」と「想像した家の中での想像」と単純な音認識するだけでは難しいような課題をすることを使って、植物状態での認識に迫りました。 https://t.co/9P1BDo1zYR 3/n

Oct 30, 2021 · 5,623 followers View post →
Hiro Hamada 濱田太陽 | Health is King
@HiroTHamadaJP · X

初期の研究の一つとして、植物状態にある患者さん課題 中(顔認識中)にPETを利用して、顔や音認識に関連する脳領域が賦活するかどうかで認知処理をしているかどうかを確かめる実験をしました。 https://t.co/5kqgJc0aFO https://t.co/9P1BDo1zYR 2/n

Oct 30, 2021 · 5,623 followers View post →
Ian Charest
@IanCharest · X

@ceptional This: https://t.co/l9wf8msZlS

Aug 31, 2021 · 1 like · 847 followers View post →
InformationBot
@InformationBot0 · X

@Hutcheson @JylkkaJussi I would say consciousness is unnecessary for mind. There is more a sort of absolute awareness that does not require consciousness. https://t.co/sow3Vobb1K

Aug 19, 2021 · 1 like · 622 followers View post →
Chris Giza
@griz1 · X

Using functional MRI #fMRI to detect volition in a person in a vegetative state. #DrZThrelkeld @StanfordMed @neurocritical @AANMember @Crit_Care @ComaRecoveryLab @ISMRM Owen A @ScienceMagazine 2006: https://t.co/Ze6L6TEvbg https://t.co/lPEtS3uxfW

Feb 12, 2021 · 4,916 followers View post →
InformationBot
@InformationBot0 · X

@JylkkaJussi https://t.co/sow3VnTzDa - Awareness comes before consciousness. Non-self arises billions of years before the self.

Jan 25, 2021 · 1 like · 622 followers View post →
د. محمد الشمري
@MohdNeuro · X

https://t.co/EwSbdfibFF

Oct 17, 2020 · 1 like · 1,281 followers View post →
ORBi-Publis-ULiège
@ORBiPubsULiege · X

Owen, A. M.-Response to comments on "Detecting awareness in the vegetative state" https://t.co/1LNmRmvYKq #OA

Aug 6, 2020 · 575 followers View post →
Umberto León Domínguez
@umbertoleon · X

Y no es que el fMRI no valga ahora para nada, por ejemplo, sirve para comunicarse con pacientes en estado vegetativo, haciéndoles preguntas sencillas de SI/NO, y el paciente activando mediante imaginación diferentes areas cerebrales asociadas a SI o NO https://t.co/WrBg9F4XmW

Jun 26, 2020 · 5,268 followers View post →
change is ahead
@crazywild7808 · X

Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State https://t.co/BlHXbToxYt

Oct 17, 2019 · 330 followers View post →
shigekiakai
@yoshinokuzu · X

『生存する意識』の著者は以下の論文の著者だったか。Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State, Adrian M. Owen et al. in Science  08 Sep 2006: Vol. 313, Issue 5792, pp. 1402 https://t.co/VK1NpKk9Sq https://t.co/3SQERTEQlY

Mar 2, 2019 · 2,120 followers View post →