To gain insight into ‘what it feels like to be in a vegetative state’ they worked with four patients who were in a vegetative state, either persistent (month-long), or permanent (over three months).

The patients were shown photographs of people they did and did not personally know then gauged the patients’ reactions using MRI, which measures blood flow in the brain to detect areas of neurological activity.

In response to all the photographs an area of the brain responsible for facial recognition was activated, indicating that their brain knew they were looking at faces.

However in response to the photographs of close family members and friends, areas of the brain associated with emotion and memory were also activated in the patients brains.