title: Can self-relevant stimuli help assessing patients with disorders of consciousness?
abstract: Emotional and self-relevant stimuli are able to automatically attract attention and their use in patients suffering from disorders of consciousness (DOC) might help detecting otherwise hidden signs of cognition. We here recorded EEG in three Locked-in syndrome (LIS) and four Vegetative State/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (VS/UWS) patients while they listened to the voice of a family member or an unfamiliar voice during a passive. Data indicate that, in a passive listening condition, the familiar voice induces stronger alpha desynchronization than the unfamiliar one. In an active condition, the target evoked stronger alpha desynchronization in controls, two LIS patients and one VS/UWS patient. Results suggest that self-relevant familiar voice stimuli can engage additional attentional resources and might allow the detection of otherwise hidden signs of instruction-following and thus residual awareness. Further studies are necessary to find sensitive paradigms that are suited to find subtle signs of cognition and awareness in DOC patients.
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: Renata.delGiudice@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Del Giudice
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: christine.blume@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blume
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: malgorzata.wislowska@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wislowska
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: Julia.Lechinger@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lechinger
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: Dominik.Heib@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Dominik P J
authors.initials: DPJ
authors.lastname: Heib
authors.affiliation: Apallic Care Unit, Neurological Division, Albert-Schweitzer-Klinik, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: gerald.pichler@stadt.graz.at.
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pichler
authors.affiliation: Apallic Care Unit, Neurological Division, Donauspital Wien, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donis
authors.affiliation: Apallic Care Unit, Neurological Division, Donauspital Wien, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michitsch
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: maria-teresa.gnjezda@stud.sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Maria-Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gnjezda
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Havana, Cuba. Electronic address: braind@infomed.sld.cu.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chinchilla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Havana, Cuba. Electronic address: braind@infomed.sld.cu.
authors.forename: Calixto
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Strasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: manuel.schabus@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schabus
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Disorders of consciousness; EEG; Familiar voice; Oscillations; Subject’s own name