<p>Here's a study on Brain Response to One's Own Name in Vegetative State, Minimally Conscious State, and Locked-in Syndrome:
<a href="http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=791093" rel="nofollow">http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=791093</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Background</strong>  A major challenge in the management of severely
  brain-injured patients with altered states of consciousness is to
  estimate their residual perception of the environment.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Objective</strong>  To investigate the integrity of detection of one's own name
  in patients in a behaviorally well-documented vegetative state (VS),
  patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS), and patients with
  locked-in syndrome.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Design</strong>  We recorded the auditory evoked potentials to the patient's
  own name and to 7 other equiprobable first names in 15 brain-damaged
  patients.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Results</strong>  A P3 component was observed in response to the patient's name
  in all patients with locked-in syndrome, in all MCS patients, and in 3
  of 5 patients in a VS. P3 latency was significantly (P&lt;.05) delayed
  for MCS and VS patients compared with healthy volunteers.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Conclusions</strong>  These results suggest that partially preserved semantic
  processing could be observed in noncommunicative brain-damaged
  patients, notably for the detection of salient stimuli, such as the
  subject's own name. This function seems delayed in MCS and (if
  present) in VS patients. More important, a P3 response does not
  necessarily reflect conscious perception and cannot be used to
  differentiate VS from MCS patients.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-23T12:17:17.567Z
2014-05-23T12:17:17.567Z
Berit Larsen
<p>There are plenty of stories flying around of people having been in a coma, but able to hear the outside world. They usually include either hearing malicious things said by staff, or encouragement by loved ones.
Are <strong>any</strong> of these cases recorded and verified, not just apocryphal?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-27T07:54:25.180Z
Changed your tags and "proven" to "verified" (since some unnecessary epistemological concerns may arise from strong interpretations of "proof"). My edits weren't essential though, so feel free to revert if you object to anything. Was tempted to add the [tag:sleep] tag, but probably don't want to conflate sleep with coma states...
Nick Stauner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-27T08:00:46.677Z
@NickStauner Perfect! I was trying to think of a better word than "proven", and that fit the bill excellently.
IQAndreas
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-27T19:48:29.497Z
Monti, M.M., et al (2010). Willful modulation of brain activity in disorders of consciousness. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(7), 579-589. http://www.google.com/url?url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dhttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/41405188_Willful_modulation_of_brain_activity_in_disorders_of_consciousness/file/e0b49514d6c9744332.pdf%26sa%3DX%26scisig%3DAAGBfm2GIdXAuKTXUddfcdtab_Oh7AlhRA%26oi%3Dscholarr&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sa=X&ei=9uuEU9_HKtHhsATso4HABQ&ved=0CCgQgAMoADAA&usg=AFQjCNEwsEPlJgl3hfDce2AoTO73GdBdqw
honi
<consciousness><hearing>
Are there any recorded cases of hearing the outside world while in a coma?
IQAndreas
# Are there any recorded cases of hearing the outside world while in a coma?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-27)

There are plenty of stories flying around of people having been in a coma, but able to hear the outside world. They usually include either hearing malicious things said by staff, or encouragement by loved ones.
Are **any** of these cases recorded and verified, not just apocryphal?

**Tags:** consciousness, hearing

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Changed your tags and "proven" to "verified" (since some unnecessary epistemological concerns may arise from strong interpretations of "proof"). My edits weren't essential though, so feel free to revert if you object to anything. Was tempted to add the [tag:sleep] tag, but probably don't want to conflate sleep with coma states...  
> **username_0**: @NickStauner Perfect! I was trying to think of a better word than "proven", and that fit the bill excellently.  
> **username_2**: Monti, M.M., et al (2010). Willful modulation of brain activity in disorders of consciousness. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(7), 579-589. http://www.google.com/url?url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dhttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/41405188_Willful_modulation_of_brain_activity_in_disorders_of_consciousness/file/e0b49514d6c9744332.pdf%26sa%3DX%26scisig%3DAAGBfm2GIdXAuKTXUddfcdtab_Oh7AlhRA%26oi%3Dscholarr&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sa=X&ei=9uuEU9_HKtHhsATso4HABQ&ved=0CCgQgAMoADAA&usg=AFQjCNEwsEPlJgl3hfDce2AoTO73GdBdqw  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-05-23. Score: 2

Here's a study on Brain Response to One's Own Name in Vegetative State, Minimally Conscious State, and Locked-in Syndrome:
<http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=791093>

> **Background** A major challenge in the management of severely
> brain-injured patients with altered states of consciousness is to
> estimate their residual perception of the environment.
>
> **Objective** To investigate the integrity of detection of one's own name
> in patients in a behaviorally well-documented vegetative state (VS),
> patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS), and patients with
> locked-in syndrome.
>
> **Design** We recorded the auditory evoked potentials to the patient's
> own name and to 7 other equiprobable first names in 15 brain-damaged
> patients.
>
> **Results** A P3 component was observed in response to the patient's name
> in all patients with locked-in syndrome, in all MCS patients, and in 3
> of 5 patients in a VS. P3 latency was significantly (P<.05) delayed
> for MCS and VS patients compared with healthy volunteers.
>
> **Conclusions** These results suggest that partially preserved semantic
> processing could be observed in noncommunicative brain-damaged
> patients, notably for the detection of salient stimuli, such as the
> subject's own name. This function seems delayed in MCS and (if
> present) in VS patients. More important, a P3 response does not
> necessarily reflect conscious perception and cannot be used to
> differentiate VS from MCS patients.


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