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Page last updated at 08:59 GMT, Thursday, 4 February 2010

Vegetative patients 'could be aware'

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Scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts, in ground-breaking research. Brain scanners were used to detect thinking in the minds of patients in permanent vegetative states (PVS).

Adam Zeman, professor of neurology at the Peninsular Medical School, considers the implication of the breakthrough in caring for brain-damaged patients.

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