Family memories can speed recovery for coma patients

For most people, a wedding elicits fond memories. So does a special road trip or a first college visit.

Hearing loved ones tell stories about events such as these may help speed recovery in brain injury patients who are in comas, a new study suggests.

For the study, researchers played recordings over headphones to 15 brain injury patients four times a day for six weeks. The patients were in vegetative or minimally conscious states.

The stories were recorded by family and friends who talked about events the patient would remember. To come up with the topics, parents and siblings worked with therapists and they brought in photos albums to help jar their own memories. Then they recorded at least eight stories for their brain-injured loved one.

Before the patients heard the recordings, researchers conducted tests to gauge their responsiveness. While the patients were listening to the stories, their brains were studied, with changes shown in MRI images. And after the six weeks, the researchers conducted further testing to compare results with those recorded before the sensory therapy.

The biggest gains in recovery came in the first two weeks, according to the study, which was published online on Jan. 22 in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair.

“We believe hearing those stories in parents’ and siblings’ voices exercises the circuits in the brain responsible for long-term memories,” study author Theresa Pape, a neuroscientist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University’s School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a university news release. “That stimulation helped trigger the first glimmer of awareness.”

As coma patients become more aware of their surroundings they can start responding to conversations and directions.

Not only did the patients benefit from the story therapy, their loved ones did, too. Often, family members feel helpless when a loved one is in a coma. Recording the stories gave them a sense of control over the patient’s recovery. They appreciated being part of the treatment.

These findings are encouraging for Dr. Michael Sibol, a medicine and rehabilitation physician for Advocate Medical Group.

“These findings suggest family members may play an important role in the early neurorehabilitation and recovery of patients in a coma following severe traumatic brain injury,” he said.