Clinical Trial: Assessing Covert Consciousness in Unresponsive Patients
Study Status: Not yet recruiting
Recruit Status: Not yet recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Assessing the Potential for 'Covert Consciousness' in Unresponsive Patients
Brief Summary: In this study, the investigators explore anesthesia as a tool for providing further insight into the level of consciousness of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), but who possess some neurophysiological signatures of conscious awareness. This group, who could potentially be conscious, will herein be referred to as the target population. Our goal is to assess whether or not neurological patterns of consciousness in the target population respond to anesthesia in a similar manner to neurologically compromised individuals with known consciousness (e.g. those in minimally conscious state (MCS). In healthy controls, propofol-induced unconsciousness results in an elimination of the mismatch negativity event-related brain potential (ERP) and a diminished directed connectivity. The investigators hypothesize that at doses well below those required for surgery, anesthesia will have similar effects on these neural patterns in neurologically compromised patients with the potential for conscious awareness, but will not affect these patterns in those who lack consciousness.
Detailed Summary:
Sponsor: University of Michigan
Current Primary Outcome: Asymmetry in feedback vs. feedforward network connectivity [ Time Frame: 3 hours ]
Original Primary Outcome: Same as current
Current Secondary Outcome: Presence of P300 and N400 event-related potentials [ Time Frame: 3 hours ]
Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current
Information By: University of Michigan
Dates:
Date Received: January 8, 2016
Date Started: December 2016
Date Completion:
Last Updated: October 25, 2016
Last Verified: October 2016