This article in the New York Times describes a recent medical breakthrough in deep brain stimulation. A man who was marginally conscious (one step up from Terry Schiavo) for five years after a mugging was treated with electrodes implanted directly into his thalamus, which is usually referred to as the "central switchboard" of the brain. Almost immediately when the electrodes were switched on, he showed a remarkable return to some semblance of consciousness.
This of course raises, or at least perpetuates, interesting philosophical and ethical questions about end-of-life care and marginally conscious patients. Of course, the fundamental problem with all these issues is caused by the mind that acts as if categories are real, rather than human conveniences; in truth, life is very complicated, and there's no reason to believe that
any rule will lead to optimal decisions in every situation. But that's a story for another day.
