Today’s New York Times (registration required) ran an article about a new brain-imaging study whose results sugest that brain-damaged people who are treated as if they are almost completely unaware may in fact hear and register what is going on around them but be unable to respond.

Some experts said the study, which appeared yesterday in the journal Neurology, could also have consequences for legal cases in which parties dispute the mental state of an unresponsive patient.

You can read the Tines article here.

Also, if you want to watch the February 8, 2005 NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams report on this encouraging study, you can click here.