Toward an interventional science of recovery after coma

• Published in: Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Vol. 112; no. 10; pp. 1595 - 1610
• Main Author: Schiff, Nicholas D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.05.2024
• Subjects: Coma - physiopathology; Coma - therapy; Consciousness - physiology; Humans; Persistent Vegetative State - physiopathology; Persistent Vegetative State - rehabilitation; Recovery of Function - physiology
• ISSN: 0896-6273; 1097-4199; 1097-4199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.027

Recovery of consciousness after coma remains one of the most challenging areas for accurate diagnosis and effective therapeutic engagement in the clinical neurosciences. Recovery depends on preservation of neuronal integrity and evolving changes in network function that re-establish environmental responsiveness. It typically occurs in defined steps: it begins with eye opening and unresponsiveness in a vegetative state, then limited recovery of responsiveness characterizes the minimally conscious state, and this is followed by recovery of reliable communication. This review considers several points for novel interventions, for example, in persons with cognitive motor dissociation in whom a hidden cognitive reserve is revealed. Circuit mechanisms underlying restoration of behavioral responsiveness and communication are discussed. An emerging theme is the possibility to rescue latent capacities in partially damaged human networks across time. These opportunities should be exploited for therapeutic engagement to achieve individualized solutions for restoration of communication and environmental interaction across varying levels of recovery. Here, Nicholas Schiff reviews several entry points for innovations aimed at recovery of consciousness after coma. Opportunities for rescuing latent capacities in partially damaged human neurons are considered across a range of recoveries from coma to chronic cognitive impairment.