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IT SEEMS like the ultimate insult 鈥� but getting people with brain injuries to do maths may lead to better diagnoses. A trial of the approach has found two people in an apparent vegetative state that may be conscious but 鈥渓ocked-in鈥�.

Eleven people with varying diagnoses were shown a maths problem on a screen, then two possible answers flashing at different frequencies. This evokes different patterns of brain activity, so a computer is able to tell which answer, if any, a person is focusing on (BMC Neurology, ).

Maths can identify people who are aware but unable to move their bodies since it uses so many brain areas, says co-author at South China University of Technology in Guangzhou.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淢aths helps spot 鈥榣ocked-in鈥� people鈥�