ArticleAnnals of neurology2021
Preservation of Brain Activity in Unresponsive Patients Identifies MCS Star.
Article in Annals of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 131 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on arousal and alertness among traumatic brain injury patients with disorders of consciousness or persistent vegetative State: a systematic review.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the diagnostic value of functional magnetic resonance imaging for distinguishing unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state and minimally conscious state.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of cerebellar stimulation on awareness recovery in disorders of consciousness (CARE-DoC): A randomized, sham-controlled, crossover clinical trial.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025Trial
- Can repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation promote recovery of consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness? A randomized controlled trial.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2025Trial
- Covert brain complexity in the intensive care unit.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2026Article
- System-specific reductions of resting-state BOLD signal entropy in disorders of consciousness.Neuroradiology · 2026Article
- Long-term HRV metrics may assist in differentiating between prolonged disorders of consciousness and emergence from minimally conscious state : a cross-sectional study.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2026Article
- Thalamic sonication in chronic disorders of consciousness: a mechanistic single-arm clinical trial.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Effects of Multi-Sensory Stimulation on Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- EEG hemispheric asymmetry and behavioral responsiveness following rTMS in unresponsive wakefulness syndrome: an exploratory study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Cortical processing modulation in DOC by preferred music-coupled 40 Hz binaural stimulation: an exploratory EEG-fNIRS study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Individual trajectories for recovery of neocortical activity in disorders of consciousness.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Functional neuroimaging in disorders of consciousness: towards clinical implementation.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025Review
- Glymphatic Function as a Prognostic Biomarker in Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Article
- Significance of the corpus callosum and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus in recovery after traumatic brain injury.Neuroradiology · 2025Article
- The Neural Correlates of Consciousness: A Spectral Exponent Approach to Diagnosing Disorders of Consciousness.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Connectome harmonic decomposition tracks the presence of disconnected consciousness during ketamine-induced unresponsiveness.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Article
- Advances in Neuroimaging and Deep Learning for Emotion Detection: A Systematic Review of Cognitive Neuroscience and Algorithmic Innovations.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The clinical features andFrontiers in neurology · 2025Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveBrain-injured patients who are unresponsive at the bedside (ie, vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome - VS/UWS) may present brain activity similar to patients in minimally conscious state (MCS). This peculiar condition has been termed "non-behavioural MCS" or "MCS*". In the present study we aimed to investigate the proportion and underlying brain characteristics of patients in MCS*.
methodsBrain
results67% of behavioural VS/UWS presented a partial preservation of brain metabolism (ie, MCS*). Compared to VS/UWS patients, MCS* patients demonstrated a better outcome, global functional connectivity and grey matter preservation more compatible with the diagnosis of MCS. MCS* patients presented lower brain metabolism mostly in the posterior brain regions compared to MCS patients.
interpretationMCS* is a frequent phenomenon that is associated with better outcome and better brain preservation than the diagnosis of VS/UWS. Complementary exams should be provided to all unresponsive patients before taking medical decisions. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:89-100.
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