The GCS was developed as a means for grading patients with traumatic brain injury and for predicting their chances of neurological recovery.

Officer Romano, who had shell fragments removed from his brain during surgery, is expected to make a full neurological recovery, Dr. Cohen said.

When MK-801 was administered to rats 15 minutes after a spinal trauma, the long-term neurological recovery of the trauma was improved.

"He was in dire neurological condition, and he's made a remarkable neurological recovery," said Dr. Overby, who performed the operation.

"There is probably a window of several hours to work in for improving the chances of neurological recovery from the initial injury," Dr. Delamarter said.

"The baby seems to have appropriate neurological recovery so far," Ms. Rockwell said.

Eventually, a heartbeat returned, and the individual has apparently made a full neurological recovery.

But it will be days before his neurological recovery can be charted.

Such an agent has been used successfully in an animal model of ischemic stroke, where treated animals exhibited improved neurological recovery relative to non-treated animals.

It is generally associated with favorable prognosis for some degree of neurological and functional recovery.