One in four unresponsive brain injury patients ‘can perform cognitive tasks’

iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

By Storm Newton, PA Media

A quarter of patients left unresponsive after a severe brain injury can still perform cognitive tasks, a study suggests.

The syndrome known as cognitive motor dissociation (CMD) can happen when a person in a coma or vegetative state appears unresponsive, but still shows brain activity related to intentional thinking.