NCT02659228

Assessing Covert Consciousness in Unresponsive Patients

Assessing the Potential for 'Covert Consciousness' in Unresponsive Patients

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Michigan · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

In this study, the investigators explore anesthesia as a tool for providing further insight into the level of consciousness of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), but who possess some neurophysiological signatures of conscious awareness. This group, who could potentially be conscious, will herein be referred to as the target population. Our goal is to assess whether or not neurological patterns of consciousness in the target population respond to anesthesia in a similar manner to neurologically compromised individuals with known consciousness (e.g. those in minimally conscious state (MCS). In healthy controls, propofol-induced unconsciousness results in an elimination of the mismatch negativity event-related brain potential (ERP) and a diminished directed connectivity. The investigators hypothesize that at doses well below those required for surgery, anesthesia will have similar effects on these neural patterns in neurologically compromised patients with the potential for conscious awareness, but will not affect these patterns in those who lack consciousness.

Conditions

• Consciousness Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	EEG recording	EEG recording with anesthetic (DIPRIVAN)
DRUG	Anesthetics, Intravenous	The participant will receive an intravenous infusion of propofol (DIPRIVAN Injectable Emulsion USP 1%, AstraZeneca).

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-12-01
• Primary completion: 2017-06-01
• First posted: 2016-01-20
• Last updated: 2016-10-27