Dr. Tononi is now collaborating with Dr. Steven Laureys of the University of Liège in Belgium to test his theory on people in persistent vegetative states.

The prognosis of diffuse axonal injury is generally poor for higher grades, with high morbidity and mortality, often with death or persistent vegetative states.

Disorders of consciousness come in shades of gray, from severely impaired "vegetative states" to the perplexing "minimally conscious state" in which people slip into and out of awareness.