So he's in a persistent vegetative state.

所以他现在是处于植物人的状态。

Modern medicine, however, has created a third option, the persistent vegetative state.

然而，现代医学技术创造了第三个选项--永久性植物人状态。

Yeah, his chart says he fell into a persistent vegetative state 16 years ago.

是的，他的病历写着他在16年前成为永久的植物人。

This might be a persistent vegetative state with no possibility of turning it on, even in principle.

有可能这是一种持续的植物人状态基本上不可能再恢复意识了。

A coma can progress into a persistent vegetative state or even locked-in syndrome, when a person is aware of themselves and their surroundings but cannot speak or move.

当一个人意识到自己和周围环境但不能说话或移动时，昏迷可能会发展成持续性植物人状态甚至闭锁综合症。

To fill that gap Kurt Gray of the University of Maryland, and Annie Knickman and Dan Wegner of Harvard University, conducted an experiment designed to ascertain just how people perceive those in a persistent vegetative state.

为了填补这个领域的空白，马里兰州大学的库尔特? 格雷和哈佛大学的丹? 魏格纳进行了一个实验，旨在确定人们如何认知植物人。