Anterior Pituitary Function in the Vegetative State

Cortical function in the persistent vegetative state.

expressed quantitative cerebral activity is crucial. The strongest evidence that supports the concept of early recovery of awareness in Menon et al.'s patient is that she ultimately recovered consciousness. Had she never regained any additional expressed qualities of attention, recognition, or interactive behavior beyond the P300 and the PET findings after another eight months (i.e. a year afte...

Brain function in the vegetative state.

Positron emission tomography (PET) techniques represent a useful tool to better understand the residual brain function in vegetative state patients. It has been shown that overall cerebral metabolic rates for glucose are massively reduced in this condition. However, the recovery of consciousness from vegetative state is not always associated with substantial changes in global metabolism. This f...

Pituitary apoplexy after combined test of anterior pituitary function.

Brain function in coma, vegetative state, and related disorders.

We review the nosological criteria and functional neuroanatomical basis for brain death, coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state, and the locked-in state. Functional neuroimaging is providing new insights into cerebral activity in patients with severe brain damage. Measurements of cerebral metabolism and brain activations in response to sensory stimuli with PET, fMRI, and electrophysi...

Detecting residual cognitive function in persistent vegetative state.

Despite converging agreement about the definition of persistent vegetative state, recent reports have raised concerns about the accuracy of diagnosis in some patients, and the extent to which, in a selection of cases, residual cognitive functions may remain undetected. Objective assessment of residual cognitive function can be extremely difficult as motor responses may be minimal, inconsistent,...