Man in coma for six years, wakes, recites "Pledge of Allegiance."
A story making the rounds on the wires and written up in the LA Times today takes a look at how tiny electrodes implanted in a coma patient's brain has helped him to regain some of his motor and verbal skills.
From the Times:
Assisted by tiny electrodes implanted in his brain, a man who had been in a coma-like state for six years regained the ability to drink from a cup, comb his hair and speak in short sentences, researchers said today.Within hours of receiving what researchers described as an electrical pacemaker for the brain, the man opened his eyes and tracked the movement of people in his hospital room.
More than a year later the man's progress continued, and recently he recited the first 16 words of the Pledge of Allegiance from memory, researchers said.
"This is a real landmark," said Dr. Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, England, who was not involved in the research. "This suggests a possible treatment for some patients."