The article reports a study which describes how electrical stimulation of a man's central thalamus, improved his condition after being in a minimally conscious state for six years. After the treatment, the man was able to speak, eat and drink as well as make gestures. Adrian Owen, from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, states that the study is a real landmark, but it also poses a challenge on how to identify people who will respond to such kind of treatment.