title: "Complete motor locked-in" and consequences for the concept of minimally conscious state.
abstract: The demonstration by Monti et al. (2010) of willful modulation of brain activity in persistent vegetative state implies the exceptional condition of a "complete motor locked-in syndrome." As a consequence, the contradictory character of the diagnosis minimally conscious state should be recognized because behaviorally observed minimal cognitive responsiveness does not exclude a higher level of well-differentiated self-consciousness. Introduction of the descriptive entities "complete motor locked-in syndrome" and "minimal cognitive responsiveness" is therefore advocated in the service of diagnostic precision.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. b.m.de.jong@umcg.nl
authors.forename: Bauke M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: de Jong
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018458:Persistent Vegetative State / Q000523:psychology*; D009626:Terminology as Topic