Family voices and stories speed coma recovery

VIDEO:A new study shows shows the voices of loved ones telling the patient familiar stories stored in his long-term memory can help awaken the unconscious brain and speed recovery from... view more

CHICAGO --- "Can he hear me?" family members are desperate to know when a loved one with a traumatic brain injury is in a coma.

A new Northwestern Medicine and Hines VA Hospital study shows the voices of loved ones telling the patient familiar stories stored in his long-term memory can help awaken the unconscious brain and speed recovery from the coma.

Coma patients who heard familiar stories repeated by family members four times a day for six weeks, via recordings played over headphones, recovered consciousness significantly faster and had an improved recovery compared to patients who did not hear the stories, reports the study.

The paper was published in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair January 22.

"We believe hearing those stories in parents' and siblings' voices exercises the circuits in the brain responsible for long-term memories," said lead author Theresa Pape. "That stimulation helped trigger the first glimmer of awareness."

As a result, the coma patients can wake more easily, become more aware of their environment and start responding to conversations and directions.

"It's like coming out of anesthesia," Pape said. "It's the first step in recovering full consciousness."

Pape is a neuroscientist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a neuroscientist at Hines VA.

"After the study treatment, I could tap them on the shoulder, and they would look at me," Pape said. "Before the treatment they wouldn't do that."

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Family voices and stories speed coma recovery