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Reforming the taxonomy in disorders of consciousness
Author(s) -
Bayne Tim,
Hohwy Jakob,
Owen Adrian M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.25088
Subject(s) - categorical variable , taxonomy (biology) , consciousness , persistent vegetative state , cognition , psychology , functional magnetic resonance imaging , cognitive science , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , computer science , machine learning , ecology , biology , minimally conscious state
This article examines the serious shortcomings that characterize the current taxonomy of postcomatose disorders of consciousness (DoC), and it provides guidelines for how an improved DoC taxonomy might be developed. In particular, it is argued that behavioral criteria for the application of DoC categories should be supplemented with brain‐based criteria (eg, information derived from electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging), and that the categorical framework that currently characterizes DoC should be replaced by a multidimensional framework that better captures the performance of patients across a range of cognitive and behavioural tasks. Ann Neurol 2017;82:866–872