This is one of two stories I found.

Former Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon Has 'Significant' Brain Activity Despite Coma
Leader Responded to Voices and Family Photos: Doctors
By Reuters
Published January 27, 2013.

" Seven years after suffering a massive stroke comatose ex- Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has surprised his doctors by displaying “a certain degree of consciousness,” an expert who examined him using an MRI scan said on Sunday.

The results of tests conducted by a joint Israeli-American team did not mean the former general and right-wing politician turned peacemaker was about to wake up from the coma he has been in since a January 2006 stroke.
. . .
These findings suggest that despite Sharon’s comatose state “he might be listening, and some important information goes into his brain and is being processed,” Friedman said.

Sharon “might be awake, and there is a chance that he is conscious,” though due to paralysis suffered as a result of his stroke he cannot respond physically, he added.

“To some extent the patient is what we call ‘locked in’, he understands and responds with his brain but cannot activate any muscles.”
. . .
“The results of the tests are not clear but encouraging, and they surprised us,. . . "

Read more: http://forward.com/articles/170039/forme.../#ixzz2JI5kxUmF

Another story at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21225929