Researchers have figured out how a commonly used general anesthetic drug induces unconsciousness by causing brain activity to become increasingly unstable. The findings could lead to better anesthetic ...

More than providing a good readout of unconsciousness, Brown added, the new algorithms offer the potential to allow anesthesiologists to maintain it at the desired level while using less drug than ...

An advanced closed-loop anesthesia delivery system that monitors brain state to tailor propofol dose and achieve exactly the desired level of unconsciousness could reduce post-op side effects. If ...

Anesthestic drugs act on the brain but most anesthesiologists rely on heart rate, respiratory rate, and movement to infer whether surgery patients remain unconscious to the desired degree. In a new ...

The brains of mammals continuously combine signals originating from different regions to produce various sensations, emotions ...

There are many drugs that anesthesiologists can use to induce unconsciousness in patients, but exactly how these drugs cause the brain to lose consciousness has been a longstanding question. A study ...

Researchers are shining a light on the darkness of the unconscious brain. Three new studies add to the body of knowledge. When patients undergo major surgery, they're often put under anesthesia to ...

The first public demonstration of surgery under anesthesia occurred in 1846. By 1847, people were already theorizing about what might be going on in the brain while a person was unconscious. More than ...

In a uniquely deep and detailed look at how the commonly used anesthetic propofol causes unconsciousness, a collaboration of labs at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT shows that as ...

A figure from the paper summarizes the main findings. Under either ketamine or dexmedetomidine general anesthesia, brain waves become shifted out of phase within a hemisphere and more into phase ...

When we are unconscious, our brains experience a communication breakdown. Whether you're sleeping, under anesthesia or in a coma, unconsciousness is rooted in how different areas of the brain become ...