Researchers Think They've Identified the Brain Pattern that Signals Consciousness

Scientists say they've identified a specific pattern of brain activity that may signal consciousness. (Credit: agsandrew/shutterstock) Imagine lying in a hospital bed, conscious, but unable to convey that to the world around you. For sufferers of strokes, traumatic brain injuries or the ever-terrifying locked-in syndrome, it’s not just nightmare fuel — it's reality for some patients. What’s potentially more frightening is that neuroscience hasn’t landed on a way to truly test for consciousness. That's not for a lack of trying. But a new paper published in Science Advances could help pave the way for spotting consciousness in the brain. An international team of researchers examined the brains of 159 people; some were healthy. However, others were either diagnosed with what’s called unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), where they can open their eyes but can’t move voluntarily, or were in a minimally conscious state (MCS). That's where some behaviors, like tracking movement ...