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Cortical Disintegration Mechanism of Anesthetic-Induced Unconsciousness

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Suppressing the Mind

Part of the book series: Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience ((CCNE))

Abstract

The fundamental thesis of this paper is that under general anesthesia, the brain preserves its reactivity to sensory stimulation, but the information conveyed by these stimuli is not integrated – therefore, it is not consciously perceived. This happens at anesthetic depths associated with behavioral unresponsiveness from which unconsciousness is inferred. A further hypothesis is that general anesthetic agents interfere with the integration of sensory information encoded in cortical neuronal activity in the gamma frequency band. A critical region whose connectivity with the rest of the brain may be disrupted in anesthesia is the posterior parietal association cortex. While it is true that most anesthetic agents utilize different cellular and molecular pathways and neuron groups to produce their pharmacological effects, a common systems level action that may lead to unconsciousness by all anesthetics is the disruption of cortical information processing. The plausibility of these hypotheses and supporting experimental evidence is discussed in the context of theoretical considerations for defining consciousness and inferring the presence or absence of consciousness in an anesthetized subject.

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Disclosure Statement

This work was supported by the grant R01 GM-56398 from the Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. This work was not an industry-supported study and the author has no financial conflicts of interest. The comments of Drs. Zeljko Bosnjak, Quinn Hogan, Thomas Stekiel, and Anna Stadnicka to this manuscript are appreciated. The contribution of graduate students Jeannette Vizuete and Sivesh Pillay to the experiments from which results are presented here is appreciated.

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    Anthony Hudetz

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  1. Dept. Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Watertown Plank Road 8701, Milwaukee, 53226, U.S.A.

    Anthony Hudetz

  2. Dept. Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Ave. 1300, Madison, 53706, U.S.A.

    Robert Pearce

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Hudetz, A. (2009). Cortical Disintegration Mechanism of Anesthetic-Induced Unconsciousness. In: Hudetz, A., Pearce, R. (eds) Suppressing the Mind. Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-462-3_5

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