In a major breakthrough, scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts. Awareness was detected in three other patients previously diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.

The research carried out in the UK and in Belgium, involved a new brain scanning method.

The study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that scans can detect signs of awareness in patients, thought to be closed off from the world. Patients in a vegetative state are awake, not in a coma, but have no awareness because of severe brain damage.