Personal injury news - Brain injury tests shown signs of communication

A recent study has shown that some individuals suffering from brain injury are able to understand people when being spoken to.

Tests carried out by the Medical Research Council have given hope to the families of people suffering from brain damage that their loved ones can hear them.

As part of the study, scientists asked a 23-year-old woman who had been severely injured in a car crash to imagine playing tennis in her head.

The young woman, who for years had been unable to walk, talk and communicate in anyway showed the same brain activity on a MRI scanner as a healthy person asked to do the same experiment.

Dr Adrian Owen, who led the study, said, "This vegetative patient retained the ability to understand spoken commands and to respond to them through brain activity. Her clear act of intent confirmed that she was consciously aware of herself and her surroundings."

The new research could help doctors in the future develop a way of communicating with people suffering from a brain injury.