AUTHOR=Annen Jitka , Blandiaux Séverine , Lejeune Nicolas , Bahri Mohamed A. , Thibaut Aurore , Cho Woosang , Guger Christoph , Chatelle Camille , Laureys Steven TITLE=BCI Performance and Brain Metabolism Profile in Severely Brain-Injured Patients Without Response to Command at Bedside JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=12 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00370 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2018.00370 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=

Detection and interpretation of signs of “covert command following” in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) remains a challenge for clinicians. In this study, we used a tactile P3-based BCI in 12 patients without behavioral command following, attempting to establish “covert command following.” These results were then confronted to cerebral metabolism preservation as measured with glucose PET (FDG-PET). One patient showed “covert command following” (i.e., above-threshold BCI performance) during the active tactile paradigm. This patient also showed a higher cerebral glucose metabolism within the language network (presumably required for command following) when compared with the other patients without “covert command-following” but having a cerebral glucose metabolism indicative of minimally conscious state. Our results suggest that the P3-based BCI might probe “covert command following” in patients without behavioral response to command and therefore could be a valuable addition in the clinical assessment of patients with DOC.