Review
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Radiol. Aug 28, 2014; 6(8): 589-597
Published online Aug 28, 2014. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v6.i8.589
Table 1 Key points of the review
Novel neuroimaging techniques in patients with DOC give important key insights into both the understanding of consciousness and the differential diagnosis of clinical DOC entities, given that behavioural assessment alone can sometimes be incorrect and imprecise
Conventional MRI and DTI investigates the structural properties of the brain and the white matter integrity. These studies showed mainly a predictive rather than diagnostic value
PET activations show a critical role of a wide frontoparietal associative network for the emergence of consciousness
fMRI employing active paradigm detects covert awareness in approximately 17% of unresponsive patients at bedside. However, there is a high risk of false negative. fMRI employing passive paradigm shows also a prognostic value. fMRI during resting state shows a broad alteration of brain connectivity, implying both decreased and increased connectivity in patients with DOC
TMS-EEG shows a high diagnostic value even at single subject level
DOC: Disorders of consciousness; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; DTI: Diffusion tensor imaging; PET: Positron emission tomography; fMRI: Functional magnetic resonance imaging; TMS-EEG: Transcranial magnetic stimulation coupled with electroencephalography.