""If someone can produce a mental state on command, it is like having a language," Monti tells WebMD. "We had 23 apparently vegetative patients, and four were really aware -- as we could tell by MRI [brain scans]." The findings do not mean that all patients in a vegetative state really are conscious beings trapped in an immovable body, Monti is quick to point out. Only a small minority of patients seem capable of activating their brains at will. Even patients capable of this limited form of communication may not be fully conscious." - xero from Bookmarklet