Changes in responsiveness when brain injury survivors with impaired consciousness hear different voices

Abstract

Primary objective: The researchers sought to determine whether individuals with impaired consciousness secondary to acquired brain injury (ABI) changed in responsiveness when purposefully presented with familiar, unfamiliar and synthetic voice messages.

Research design: Researchers used an ABA single case study design across stimuli. Participants were three minimally-responsive ABI survivors.

Methods and procedures: Participants heard auditory stimuli twice daily for 30 days. Data from video recordings included tallies of behavioural responses at 10-second intervals throughout baseline, intervention and post-intervention phases of each session. Statistical calculations allowed determination of responsiveness changes across time intervals within sessions.

Main outcomes and results: Unique response profiles emerged across survivors. Two participants demonstrated responsiveness changes with presentation of auditory stimuli. None demonstrated a clinically-significant differential response based on voice type.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that auditory stimulation results in arousal changes in some ABI survivors, regardless of the familiarity of voices presented.

• Brain injury
• impaired consciousness
• minimally conscious
• intervention
• stimulation