R Woods

Wakefulness and loss of awareness: brain and brainstem interaction in the vegetative state.

Neurology January 26, 2010 S Silva, X Alacoque, O Fourcade et al.

The ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) modulates circadian wakefulness, which is preserved in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Its metabolism is preserved. Impairment of metabolism in the polymodal associative cortices (i.e., precuneus) is characteristic of PVS where awareness is abolished. Because the interaction of these 2 structures allows conscious sensory perception, our...