LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Cerebral metabolism during vegetative state and after recovery to consciousness One way to approach the study of conscious-ness is to explore lesional cases in which impairment of consciousness is the promi-nent clinical sign. Vegetative state is such a condition wherein awareness is abolished whereas arousal persists. It can be diagnosed clinically soon after a brain injury and may be reversible (as in the following case report) or progress to a persistent vegetative state or death. The distinction between vegetative state and persistent vegetative state is that the second is defined as a vegetative state that ha