519-661-2111 ext. 87485, dkeddy@uwo.ca

Jeff Renaud, Senior Media RelationsOfficer,

519-661-2111 ext. 85165, jrenaud9@uwo.ca

The moment when Prof Owen asked patient Scott whether he was inpain

A Canadian man who was believed to havebeen in a vegetative state for more than a decade, has been able totell scientists that he is not in any pain.

It\'s the first time an uncommunicative, severely brain-injuredpatient has been able to give answers clinically relevant to theircare.

Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brainactivity scanned in an fMRI machine.

His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will needrewriting.

Vegetative patients emerge from a coma into a condition wherethey have periods awake, with their eyes open, but have noperception of themselves or the outside world.

Mr Routley suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident 12years ago.

None of his physical assessments sincethen have shown any sign of awareness, or ability tocommunicate.

But the British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen - who led theteam at the Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario- said Mr Routley was clearly not vegetative.

\"Scott has been able to show he has a conscious, thinking mind.We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activityshows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe heknows who and where he is.\"

Prof Owen said it was a groundbreaking moment.

\"Asking a patient something important tothem has been our aim for many years. In future we could ask whatwe could do to improve their quality of life. It could be simplethings like the entertainment we provide or the times of day theyare washed and fed.\"

Scott Routley\'s parents say they always thought he was consciousand could communicate by lifting a thumb or moving his eyes. Butthis has never been accepted by medical staff.

Prof Bryan Young at University Hospital, London - Mr Routley\'sneurologist for a decade - said the scan results overturned all thebehavioural assessments that had been made over the years.

\"I was impressed and amazed that he wasable to show these cognitive responses. He had the clinical pictureof a typical vegetative patient and showed no spontaneous movementsthat looked meaningful.\"

Observational assessments of Mr Routley since he responded inthe scanner have continued to suggest he is vegetative. Prof Youngsaid medical textbooks would need to be updated to include ProfOwen\'s techniques.

The BBC\'s Panorama programme followed several vegetative andminimally-conscious patients in Britain and Canada for more than ayear.

Another Canadian patient, Steven Graham, was able to demonstratethat he had laid down new memories since his brain injury. MrGraham answers yes when asked whether his sister has a daughter.His niece was born after his car accident five years ago.

The Panorama team also followed three patients at the RoyalHospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney, which specialises inthe rehabilitation of brain-injured patients.

It collaborates with a team ofCambridge University neuroscientists at the Wolfson Brain ImagingCentre at Addenbrooke\'s hospital, Cambridge.

Panorama\'s Fergus Walsh meets Professor Adrian Owen to learn whatthe brain is like when in a vegetative state

One of the patients is diagnosed asvegetative by the RHN, and he is also unable to show awareness inan fMRI machine.

A second patient, who was not able tobe fully assessed by the RHN because of repeated sickness, is latershown to have some limited awareness in brain scans.

New Canada Excellence Research ChairAwarded $10 Million

London, ON ndash; One of the world’sforemost neuroscientists, Adrian Owen, has been recruited to TheUniversity of Western Ontario as a Canada Excellence ResearchChair (CERC) and will bring his remarkable research programfrom University ofCambridge.

Owen, who was awarded $10 million fromthe federal government’s CERC program to conduct his research inCanada, will bring with him his entire research team.

Building on more than 20 years ofpioneering work in cognitive neuroscience, Owen generatedwidespread international attention in Februaryfor a study published in the New England Journal of Medicinethat demonstrated for the first time that some patients in avegetative state may not only have cognitive thoughts, but can alsocommunicate.

In April, Owen again attractedinternational attention for a study published in the prestigiousjournal, Nature,which showed ‘brain training’ video games do not make peoplesmarter.

\"Adrian Owen\'s recruitment furtherstrengthens an established core of scientists at Western who have aglobal reputation for excellence and major breakthroughs incognitive neuroscience and imaging,\" says Western’s President,Amit Chakma. \"Our ability to attract Dr. Owen reflects a strategicinvestment in not only one of the absolute top scientists in hisfield, but in Canada\'s firm commitment to maintaining a leadershiprole in research, education and health.\"

As the Canada Excellence ResearchChair in Neuroscience and Imaging, Owen will study the cognitivedeficits ndash; problems in perceiving, thinking, reasoning andremembering ndash; in patients suffering from neurodegenerativediseases like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS.Drawing on Western’s expertise in genetics, cognitiveneuroscience, neurology and brain imaging, he will also explore thecauses of neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of improvingearly detection and treatment.

Owen uses techniques that areextremely complementary to research in conscious and unconsciousperception led by Melvyn Goodale, Ravi Menon and colleagues atWestern’s Centrefor Brain Mind. Western and Robarts are alsohome to one of the world’s most comprehensive arrays of MRIinstruments ndash; which are central to Owen’s work ndash; includingCanada’s only 7 Tesla (7T) functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) system.

Owen’s areas of study reinforceinternational strengths in cognitive neuroscience and imaging atWestern and Robarts, providing a solid foundation for futureresearch with fMRI. His efforts will also improve healthcaredelivery for brain-injured patients across Canada, affectingdiagnosis and clinical care, medical ethics and medical and legaldecision making about life after severe brain injury.

“This is the place to be foradvanced neuroscience research,” Owen says. “The opportunity towork closely with world-class colleagues, the best equipmentavailable and to have patients nearby that my work can help drew meto London and will make it easier for me to achieve my researchobjectives ndash; and to push the envelope even further.”

Prior to coming to Western, Owen was asenior scientist and assistant director of the prestigious MedicalResearch Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit inCambridge. His work there, and at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centreat Cambridge University, used functional neuroimaging to exploreattention, memory and control in brain-injured patients and healthyvolunteers.

Western has also hired Owen’s wife,JessicaGrahn ndash; a noted neuroscientist in her own right ndash; who isexamining ties between music and the brain. Grahn, who isinterested in how musical rhythm is processed in the brain and howmusical rhythm differs from processing of other types of temporalsequences, will be appointed to Western’s department ofPsychology.

“Attracting Dr. Owen and his team isa coup not only for the academic community, but for Canada as awhole,” says Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President (Research International Relations). “The federalgovernment funded the CERC program to attract the very best andbrightest, and has helped the University bring Dr. Owen’sworld-class research program to London in a move that will standout in Western’s history.”

Owen, who will start in London onJanuary 1, 2011, will become a member of Western\'s world-renownedCentre for Brain Mind, an interdisciplinarycognitive neuroscience initiative bringing together leadingresearch and Canada\'s most advanced centre for imagingtechnologies. Led by the Faculty of Social Science and Schulich School ofMedicine Dentistry, including the brainimaging program at Robarts, the Centre\'s researchers areclarifying how the brain turns intention and thought intoaction.\"

Contact:

Douglas Keddy, Research CommunicationsCoordinator, 519-661-2111 ext. 87485, dkeddy@uwo.ca

Jeff Renaud, Senior Media RelationsOfficer, 519-661-2111 ext. 85165, jrenaud9@uwo.ca