Consciousness Is Partly Preserved during General Anesthesia

Finnish researchers have gained new information on brain activity during general anesthesia by recording changes in the electrical activity of the brain. They discovered that changes in electroencephalogram correlated with the loss of consciousness itself and also by the non-specific effects of the drugs. Nearly all participants recalled dreaming during unresponsiveness and, somewhat surprisingly, words presented during anesthesia were still processed in the brain even though the participants were unable to recall them later.

The cover of the July 2018 issue of Anesthesiology (image: Sara Jarret, CMI).  

See more at                 ScienceDaily: 3 July 2018

                                      MedicalNewsToday: 6 July 2018

The articles can be downloaded free of charge from

Differentiating Drug-related and State-related Effects of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol on the Electroencephalogram

Dreaming and awareness during dexmedetomidine- and propofol-induced unresponsiveness

Spoken words are processed during dexmedetomidine-induced unresponsiveness

Comparative effects of dexmedetomidine, propofol, sevoflurane, and S-ketamine on regional cerebral glucose metabolism in humans: a positron emission tomography study

More information about the Anesthesia Mechanisms Study Group