New research using functional brain imaging reveals that many patients considered to be in a coma or vegetative state and who are unresponsive may actually be conscious and aware.
A full transcript of this episode is available at nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2408662.
Apr 2026
Intention to Treat | Season 2: The Race Equation (Trailer)
What happens when medicine gets race wrong? In a new 8-week series, The Race Equation confronts harmful assumptions about race in clinical medicine, why they endure, and what it will take to change. Follow “Intention to Treat” on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast ... Show More
2m 45s
Oct 2022
Sleep, Unconsciousness & the Brain. With Dr. Adrian Owen
Dr. Adrian Owen, a renowned neuroscientist, discovered that individuals in a persistent coma could still communicate- and he went one step further and listened to what they wanted to say. He’s also performed the largest sleep and cognition study in the world, and demonstrated why ... Show More
45m 37s
Jun 2020
#22: Consciousness from the body as well as the brain; record temperatures in the Arctic; long-term symptoms of covid-19
If your brain was put in a vat and supplied with food and oxygen, would it be able to think? Would it be you? For much of the 20th century, people assumed the answer to this thought experiment was yes. But there is growing evidence suggesting the brain needs the body to work prop ... Show More
24m 55s