“In his book Into the Gray Zone, Owen discusses the case of a patient named Amy who suffered a serious head injury in a fall and for years lay in a hospital bed. Using an fMRI scanner, and carefully watching the woman’s neural responses when researchers asked her a series of questions, they were able to determine that she was fully conscious. “She had heard every conversation, recognised every visitor, and listened intently to every decision being made on her behalf.” But she was unable to move a muscle—to open her eyes, scratch an itch, express any desire. Owen believes that something in the region of 15 to 20 percent of people thought to be in a permanent vegetative state are in fact Bryson, Bill. The Body (p. 70). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. ”