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I saw this in the new york times this morning, it's quite disterbing. How crazy would you be when they could finally wake you up? | |
Jesus. Imagine just sitting there for years. | |
Well, that sounds just horrible. Being concious of ones surroundings and being unable to move. I would rather be asleep than that. Still interesting to know though. | |
Fascinating stuff. It does bring in the idea of using MRI's to communicate with sentience other than adults though, and once we do that, can electronic telepathy be far off? As well as it having very significant rammifications on all sorts of childhood back to the womb. | |
Eh, no, it hasn't. As usual, the masses of the public begin to wildly misinterpret what has actually been said in the research, eagery throwing themselves down the slippery slope, in this case for the perverse pleasure of creating a real life horror story. What we have so far is that a scan showed activity. What this activity is, what causes it, and if it has any bearing at all to the questions or if it is actual awareness or something else, is not yet determined. Still, people are jumping at a shot at this creating a nightmare about fully aware people trapped inside non-functioning bodies. This insane desire to see people in a vegetative state as fully aware has created some horrifying cases of abuse of people who cannot speak for themselves. Here is one terrible example of abusing a person to make media headlines. Before you watch this video, turn off the sound and just watch it... don't listen or read the text the first time around... just watch. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/975121/belgian-coma-man-was-just-awake-for-23-years Fraud-buster James Randi has replied: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/783-this-cruel-farce-has-to-stop.html Seriously... what the heck is wrong with people? Why are you so utterly eager to chase horror stories? /S, upset | |
That metallica video is awesome. S...O...S... | |
Not sure what would be worse, being 'awake' in a coma, or waking up midway through surgery. Either way, scary stuff. | |
Interesting. Bit of a tangent, but I think the phrase "Scientists Prove Coma Victims May Still Be Awake" is funny. | |
Ok. 1. This is somewhat what Shale from Dragon Age said he had to go through. Day in and day out. Must've drove him or anybody for that matter crazy. 2.Why did'nt somebody just either give the guy fake arms and legs, or just kill him and end his misery? Why?! | |
Good God...well, the implications of this are certainly unpleasant, if this turns out to be true. Emphasis on 'if.' We don't know all the facts yet. Honestly, I never thought I'd say this, but maybe the coma victims would be better off unconscious all that time. Being awake for all that time and unable to move...And I Must Scream, anyone? | |
"Do you want to die?" "Tennis tennis tennis tennis tennis tennis!!!" Sorry, I had to. | |
'Johnny' Is about someone without sensory output or input, not in a coma, but still, this is kinda saddening for the person, have to be all alone as well, maybe now we know this it might help people find out for there loved ones. Also, cool picture for the post. | |
Good point. You do use the phrase "prove" a lot but as any scientist will tell you, one test hardly proves anything, especially one as objective as this. | |
Interesting. I'm not sure I'm convinced it's proven anything. Though I think it has demonstrated more towards Kant's idea that the mental world is dependent on the physical world and not the other way around like Descartes believed. Practically speaking, though, I think they are codependent. btw, it's Johnny Got His Gun. | |
Exactly. In the black & white world of non-scientists, a correlation is causation... an indication is "proof"... and when someone calling him/herself a "scientist" has claimed something, it is suddenly universal truth. This has created a large number of modern paranoias and myths, such as the idiotic notion that water has "memory", the stupid fear that vaccines are dangerous, or the physical impossibility that cell phones cause cancer. And here we see it again... the same kind of eagerness to take one reading and running off on a tangent 'til they poke an alien in the next galaxy over in the bum with it. Stop it... for the love of your sanity, STOP. Don't read things into statements that aren't there just because it's something you want to see. /S | |
I belive the quote: "I have no mouth and i must scream" is also appropriate in this case... | |
MRI machines are so much fun, if I had a few million pounds spare I'd get a few to play with. They're strangely comfortable too. | |
This is nothing new. Sitcoms have been telling us this for YEARS! | |
They are also much more effective lie detectors. Showing parts of brains that work only when telling the truth (for instance, when someone uses parts that we use to create fiction - he's lying), they are a lot better than those crappy machines that register changes in blood pressure and pulse. Also, if someone was in a vegetative state and he woke up... how many would drive few hundred miles to eat a sandwich? | |
That is actually pretty depressing. I'm no saint, but let's just say I've had my fair shair of "chemically induced comas" that only lasted about 30 minutes to an hour (I think). And that really sucked for me to be able to think and respond mentally, but not be able to move your body or speak. Now imagine that for years. That Metallica reference was very appropriate. | |
I saw the Metallica video for "One" and thought it sounded horrible, but the chance that it could happen to anyone? This is just another reason to never leave the house lol | |
Yes it is. Man I nestalgiad hard. | |
Did you read the study, or even my brief explanation of it? It says that there was specific brain activity linked to the asking of questions, and did not involve a typist or any other ouiji board-like misdirection. This is not a case of CHE or any fraudulent activity. I think you've reacted strongly and without reason, just like you are criticizing others for doing. | |
Thanks, fixed. | |
Thanks guys, I removed most mentions of the word "prove" in the story. | |
Hate to be pedantic, but being in a coma and a vegetative state are very different. Still, really good news, although worrying that it's possible to be in a seemingly unresponsive state while still aware. | |
I find this so incredibly disturbing. I mean, honestly, even if you -were able to move-, being trapped in a single room is unbearable. Now take away movement, and just...wow. I didn't think it could get any worse... | |
If this is true how bad must it feel for the coma patients who get to listen to friends/family bad mouth them. | |
Yes, I read this on the Beeb yesterday. It's nice to know that there's still a way of communicating, but it's horrifying to know two things.
2.Even if the person communicates that they want to die, which you can't blame them for, the doctors legally can't do it or else they'll be charged with murder, at least in Britain. This, to my mind, is totally obscene. They should be allowed to ask to end their own life, or the half life they live in. Seriously, this is my number one reason for the advocacy of assisted suicide. | |
Well now that we know this, we face the .. oppertunity (?) to do something about it. | |
Wasn't there a news article here not to long ago about someone waking up from this very situation? If it's true, it's some pretty horrific stuff. | |
Seriously, I should make a will or something that states that if I'm ever in a coma with no chance of awakening, that they are to kill me. Permanent coma = kill the Skooterz. None of that slow starving to death bullshit though. Shoot me in the head. With a gun. | |
that is quite scary. I would hate it if I was like that and couldn't do anything...and know it. Although it does raise hope that people are still in there at least. | |
Keeping people who are in a vegetative state alive should be a crime. | |
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Scientists Claim Coma Victims May Still Be Awake
Scientists in the U.K. used real-time MRIs to communicate with patients previously thought to be in a completely vegetative state.
The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, which provides a picture of brain activity in real time. Patients were asked to think a certain way in response to questions about their life. Using this technique, one study published in the New England Journal of Medicine claimed that it was possible to communicate with 4 patients out of 23 who were diagnosed to be in a vegetative state.
We've all heard horrible stories of people in car accidents, or otherwise seriously brain damaged, who enter a coma. They are effectively asleep, and can last that way for several weeks and sometimes years. It's possible, however, for such a patient to advance to a vegetative state, which is only slightly more awake. Their bodies still function enough to maintain life, but they are completely unresponsive to stimuli because of the severe damage to their brains.
The researchers have shown that at least some of these people are aware of their surroundings enough to communicate. When asked questions, the patients were told to think about playing tennis, which stimulates the motor cortex if they wanted to answer "yes" and to imagine a spatial activity, like walking on the street, in order to answer "no."
While the implications of this study are far-reaching and can impact the ethics of euthanasia, as well as open the doors to more research into how our brain functions, I had a much more visceral response.
This study implies that these people are awake and trapped in their dysfunctional bodies.
It's kind of like the video for Metallica's One, which was in turn based on the movie and novel Johnny Got His Gun. "If I had arms, I could kill myself. If I had legs, I could run away."
Shudder.
Source: BBC
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