“I don’t know. The mainstream media is doing a wonderful job sensationalizing this case, presenting it without skepticism. Some outlets are doing a good job of discussing the relevant issues – but they don’t have the information to have a meaningful discussion of this particular case. Details are tantalizing but thin.
The case is that of Rom Houben. The story was broke, as far as I can tell, by the Mail Online – yes, that is a huge red flag. It does not make the story wrong, it just doesn’t instill in me confidence in the reporting.
Mr. Houben was in a terrible motor vehicle accident 23 years ago and has been paralyzed ever since. His diagnosis has been PVS – persistent vegetative state. However, recently, we are told, his mother insisted on a neurological re-evaluation. This is actually quite reasonable, generally speaking (again, without knowing specific details of this case).
As a result Dr. Steven Laureys did some advanced neuro-imaging on Mr. Houben. Laureys is a neurologist with not only legitimate but impressive expertise in coma and disorders of consciousness. Often the press throws around the term “top expert” without any meaning, but in this case the term seems appropriate.
I do not know what imaging was done, but Dr. Laureys’ team is doing research using functional MRI scanning and MRI spectroscopy – techniques which infer brain function from blood flow or metabolism. They are using these scanning techniques, during resting and activated states, to see how much cortical brain function there is in patients in apparent coma.
According to the press reports, Dr. Laureys found that Houben’s brain function was intact, or almost intact. This led to further evaluation of Mr. Houben’s clinical state, and it was discovered that he was able to communicate by typing out messaging on a board. Mr. Houben soon began recounting how he was awake the whole time, screaming inside his head, and eventually retreated into his dreams. He now feels like he has been reborn and looks forward to interacting with his family.
This is a wonderful story for the media. But to this neurologist, and I would think to any critically-thinking journalist, some questions come to mind. The biggest problem with this case as presented is that the finger-typing of Mr. Houben looks suspiciously like facilitated communication.”
Science Based Medince (Thanks Berber)
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*cough* typo *cough*
(Hi, phillis. Will you be my friend?)
I heard about this story… 23 years… it’s difficult to imagine how was his life, what were his thoughts…
I have been 3 days in hospital where I couldn’t move or do something and it was just a nightmare…. I was so bored! Time didn’t want to go by. So 23 years….
I can only hope that this is not facilitated communication. I can not see the vid here so have no real image of it in this case, nor have I ever spoken with people that do help them communicate like that. Via eye blinks I knew about and seems more genuine, though also more limited, although I wonder would you be so talkative after years of silence on the inside. If it was not silence than they could have measured this already quite simple in the brain. But they dont test this after the first time much more apparently, weird enough.
The idea of people in coma being (sub)conscious I indeed find extremely depressing. I think you’d sleep a lot, if you could still do that and if that wont help, vegetating but not due to the damage of an accident or such, due to the complete nothing
Would you give up hope on someone or yourself?
Nopke, in the vid, Houben has his eyes closed as the facilitator is rapidly typing out a message with his finger (which is in a brace). He neither sees nor feels the screen, which begs the question of how he is supposed to ‘guide’ her, then.
The saddest scenario to me, but imho also a likely one, is that the poor guy was indeed locked-in, but now that people are aware of that, has fallen victim to FC — meaning he is AGAIN made speechless, as a nice little ventriloquist’s dummy for the facilitator, instead of being aided in finding an ACTUAL way of communicating.
Poor guy.
Berber said it in one, saved me having to type as much