This is an important expansion to our understanding....
Researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK have found that the blockage between covert awareness and intentional movement is caused by structural damage between the thalamus and primary motor cortex.
While it is known that a number of people who appear to be unresponsive are actually aware of themselves and their surroundings, the reason for their inability to respond has been identified for the first time.
New insight into a vital cerebral pathway has enabled the team to understand how some patients in a vegetative state remain aware, although they appear to be unconscious and unable to respond.