Study Finds Activity in Brains That Seem to Be Shut Down - NYTimes.com

Study Finds Activity in Brains That Seem to Be Shut Down - NYTimes.com: "In the current experiment, the researchers found that three other patients showed similar responses. To open a channel of communication, they instructed one of them, the 29-year-old man, to associate thoughts about tennis with “yes” and thoughts about being in his house with “no.”

They then asked questions, repeating the procedure numerous times, switching the associations — tennis with yes, then with no — to make sure the patient was in fact making conscious choices. The researchers had previously tested the technique in healthy volunteers."