Neurovascular Reactions to AAT in Patients With DOC

Each participant will be measured in 6 sessions. Sessions take place three times a week for 2 weeks (leading up to a total of 3 experimental sessions and 3 control sessions), each lasting for about 15 minutes.

Each session consists of 5 phases, with an animal present in three of them. In the beginning, waiting (with no stimulus presented) serves as baseline measurement. Second, an animal is watched, then the animal is placed on the patient's lap and in the fourth condition, the patient can stroke the animal with the help of the present therapist. After, there is again a waiting condition.

Control sessions are comparable sessions but with a fur pet instead of a live animal as stimulus.

Measurements are: brain activity (near-infrared spectroscopy, NIRS), skin conductance (EDA), heart rate and heart rate variability assessed via photoplethysmography (PPG) during the sessions and the BAVESTA score after each session. For further behavior analysis all sessions are videotaped.

Inclusion criteria

for patients:

• Informed Consent as documented by signature (Appendix Informed Consent Form)
• Inpatients of REHAB Basel with severe disorder of consciousness: minimal conscious state defined via: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) / Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (Koma Remissions Skala, KRS/KRS-S) / BAVESTA Score
• Minimum Age of 18 years

Inclusion criteria

for healthy participants:

• Informed Consent as documented by signature (Appendix Informed Consent Form)
• History of acquired brain-injury
• Minimum age of 18 years

Exclusion criteria

• Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons,
• medical contraindications for contact with animals as allergy, phobia etc.
• If the patient's medication changes radically during the time of data collection (only eligible for clinical participants)