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"Vegetative State" Patients Can Communicate

Kittenman writes "The BBC is carrying a story about researchers in the UK and Belgium who can detect the thinking processes within a patient previously thought to be in a vegetative state. The researchers ask the patient verbally to think in certain ways to indicate a 'yes', in other ways to indicate a 'no' — and have successfully communicated with 4 out of 23 patients previously thought to be in a coma."

18 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. Horrible news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    As a life-long vegetarian, I'm horrified with the idea of being able to communicate with my... oh wait.

  2. It's not that big of a deal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Us vegetative types have been doing that for years on World of Warcraft.

    1. Re:It's not that big of a deal... by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Funny
      "Us vegetative types have been doing that for years on World of Warcraft."

      Hell, I was thinking more along terms of my current management.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  3. Vegetative patients say by codewarren · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Eat me, I'm nutritious."

  4. One beep for "yes", two for "no" by kungfugleek · · Score: 5, Funny
    Zap: "Is your name 'Fry'?"
    Fry: "BEEP!"
    Zap: "'Yes.' Ok. And, are you guilty!?"
    Fry: "BEEP! BEEP!"
    Zap: "Double 'Yes'!"

    Sorry -- too lazy to dig for the exact quote.

  5. Re:4 out of 23? by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you're only sending out 23 surveys you need to take a remedial statistics course. And actually an almost 25% return rate is very good for any survey. Most folks are lucky to get a 10% return.

    What if you only have 23 faculty members?

    Damn, you know last night I asked my wife how her day was. What a fool I was. How could I ever get valid results with such a small sample pool.

    --
    Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  6. Re:Terrible fear by machine321 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Especially if a land mine has taken your sight, taken your speech, taken your hearing, taken your arms, taken your legs, taken your soul, and left you with life in hell.

  7. You have been found punworthy by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean the cereal rapist will spend time in Vegetative State Penitentiary.

  8. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm holding out for there being some consciousness in the medulla oblongata, held down and suppressed by the tyranny of the cerebral cortex.

    Finally free, the medulla oblongata rejoices that now it is the dominant force of consciousness and now it will get to make all the decisions.

    Only then it discovers it still can't do anything but make the body breath, pump blood, and occasionally barf.

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  9. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by cellocgw · · Score: 2, Funny

    Lots of horrible things happened. Insides of coffins from the earlier centuries were found to have scratch marks from the people inside waking up
    That doesn't count: they (the bodies inside those coffins) turned out to be zombies or vampires, all defective and thus unable to reach the surface. Unlike Uma Thurman, who got out just fine...

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  10. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by ascari · · Score: 2, Funny

    doesn't say all patients in a vegetative state are aware, just that some are, or more to the point, have been misdiagnosed.

    Yes, for all we know they could just be browsing slashdot comments.

  11. Re:Euthanasia by bareman · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think we've come full circle

    "for the last five years of my life, forgotten by and an embarrassment to my friends and family is my idea of hell."

    back to the World of Warcraft player.

  12. Re:Terrible fear by ari_j · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dude. You spelled HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL wrong.

    Ode to the lameness filter:
    I know, dear Filter, that using so many caps is like yelling
    When quoting Metallica, though, yelling is okay
    My mother taught me never to yell at people
    But she also said that it's okay if you have a loud guitar
    Incidentally, she didn't teach me how
    To write an ode.

  13. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Real Player required?

    At least they used a format that's as braindead as the subject.

  14. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    That's good enough for a degree at most colleges!

  15. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by AaxelB · · Score: 2, Funny

    You could totally form a language based on barfing, and from there it's just a short jump to civilization! A barfy one.

  16. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    *insert tasteless peanut butter cup joke here*

  17. Re:Summary wrong: Not a coma! by Ihmhi · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean Los Angeles?