Quantitative EEG changes associated with loss and return of consciousness in healthy adult volunteers anaesthetized with propofol or sevoflurane
by
Gugino LD, Chabot RJ, Prichep LS,
John ER, Formanek V, Aglio LS.
Department of Anesthesia,
Brigham and Women's Hospital,
Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA, USA.
Br J Anaesth. 2001 Sep;87(3):421-8

ABSTRACT

Significant changes in topographic quantitative EEG (QEEG) features were documented during induction and emergence from anaesthesia induced by the systematic administration of sevoflurane and propofol in combination with remifentanil. The goal was to identify those changes that were sensitive to alterations in the state of consciousness but independent of anaesthetic protocol. Healthy paid volunteers were anaesthetized and reawakened using propofol/remifentanil and sevoflurane/remifentanil, administered in graded steps while the level of arousal was measured. Alterations in the level of arousal were accompanied by significant QEEG changes, many of which were consistent across anaesthetic protocols. Light sedation was accompanied by decreased posterior alpha and increased frontal/central beta power. Frontal power predominance increased with deeper sedation, involving alpha and, to a lesser extent, delta and theta power. With loss of consciousness, delta and theta power increased further in anterior regions and also spread to posterior regions. These changes reversed with return to consciousness.

QEEG
People
Anaesthesia
Brain microtubules
Molecular mechanisms
Molecular and cellular mechanisms
Auditory steady-state response and general anaesthesia

Refs
and further reading

HOME
HedWeb
Nootropics
cocaine.wiki
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
MDMA/Ecstasy
Superhappiness?
Utopian Surgery?
The Good Drug Guide
The Abolitionist Project
The Hedonistic Imperative
The Reproductive Revolution
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World