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Background: Anaesthetic-induced unresponsiveness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep share common neural pathways and neurophysiological features. We hypothesised that these states bear resemblance also at the experiential level., Methods: We compared, in a within-subject design, the prevalence and content of experiences in reports obtained after anaesthetic-induced unresponsiveness and NREM sleep. Healthy males (N=39) received dexmedetomidine (n=20) or propofol (n=19) in stepwise doses to induce unresponsiveness. Those rousable were interviewed and left unstimulated, and the procedure was repeated. Finally, the anaesthetic dose was increased 50%, and the participants were interviewed after recovery. The same participants (N=37) were also later interviewed after NREM sleep awakenings., Results: Most subjects were rousable, with no difference between anaesthetic agents (P=0.480). Lower drug plasma concentrations were associated with being rousable for both dexmedetomidine (P=0.007) and propofol (P=0.002) but not with recall of experiences in either drug group (dexmedetomidine: P=0.543; propofol: P=0.460). Of the 76 and 73 interviews performed after anaesthetic-induced unresponsiveness and NREM sleep, 69.7% and 64.4% included experiences, respectively. Recall did not differ between anaesthetic-induced unresponsiveness and NREM sleep (P=0.581), or between dexmedetomidine and propofol in any of the three awakening rounds (P>0.05). Disconnected dream-like experiences (62.3% vs 51.1%; P=0.418) and memory incorporation of the research setting (88.7% vs 78.7%; P=0.204) were equally often present in anaesthesia and sleep interviews, respectively, whereas awareness, signifying connected consciousness, was rarely reported in either state., Conclusions: Anaesthetic-induced unresponsiveness and NREM sleep are characterised by disconnected conscious experiences with corresponding recall frequencies and content., Clinical Trial Registration: Clinical trial registration. This study was part of a larger study registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01889004)., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Establishing the neural mechanisms responsible for the altered global states of consciousness during anesthesia and dissociating these from other drug-related effects remains a challenge in consciousness research. We investigated differences in brain activity between connectedness and disconnectedness by administering various anesthetics at concentrations designed to render 50% of the subjects unresponsive. One hundred and sixty healthy male subjects were randomized to receive either propofol (1.7 μg/ml; n = 40), dexmedetomidine (1.5 ng/ml; n = 40), sevoflurane (0.9% end-tidal; n = 40), S-ketamine (0.75 μg/ml; n = 20), or saline placebo ( n = 20) for 60 min using target-controlled infusions or vaporizer with end-tidal monitoring. Disconnectedness was defined as unresponsiveness to verbal commands probed at 2.5-min intervals and unawareness of external events in a postanesthesia interview. High-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) was used to quantify regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose (CMR glu ) utilization. Contrasting scans where the subjects were classified as connected and responsive versus disconnected and unresponsive revealed that for all anesthetics, except S-ketamine, the level of thalamic activity differed between these states. A conjunction analysis across the propofol, dexmedetomidine and sevoflurane groups confirmed the thalamus as the primary structure where reduced metabolic activity was related to disconnectedness. Widespread cortical metabolic suppression was observed when these subjects, classified as either connected or disconnected, were compared with the placebo group, suggesting that these findings may represent necessary but alone insufficient mechanisms for the change in the state of consciousness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Experimental anesthesia is commonly used in the search for measures of brain function which could distinguish between global states of consciousness. However, most previous studies have not been designed to separate effects related to consciousness from other effects related to drug exposure. We employed a novel study design to disentangle these effects by exposing subjects to predefined EC 50 doses of four commonly used anesthetics or saline placebo. We demonstrate that state-related effects are remarkably limited compared with the widespread cortical effects related to drug exposure. In particular, decreased thalamic activity was associated with disconnectedness with all used anesthetics except for S-ketamine., (Copyright © 2023 Kantonen et al.)

To understand how anesthetics with different molecular mechanisms affect consciousness, we explored subjective experiences recalled after responsive and unresponsive sedation induced with equisedative doses of dexmedetomidine, propofol, sevoflurane, and S-ketamine in healthy male participants (N = 140). The anesthetics were administered in experimental setting using target-controlled infusion or vapouriser for one hour. Interviews conducted after anesthetic administration revealed that 46.9% (n = 46) of arousable participants (n = 98) reported experiences, most frequently dreaming or memory incorporation of the setting. Participants receiving dexmedetomidine reported experiences most often while S-ketamine induced the most multimodal experiences. Responsiveness at the end of anesthetic administration did not affect the prevalence or content of reported experiences. These results demonstrate that subjective experiences during responsive and unresponsive sedation are common and anesthetic agents with different molecular mechanisms of action may have different effects on the prevalence and complexity of the experiences, albeit in the present sample the differences between drugs were minute., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coherent alpha electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythms in the frontal cortex have been correlated with the hypnotic effects of propofol and dexmedetomidine, but less is known about frontal connectivity as a state-specific correlate of unresponsiveness as compared with long-range connectivity. We aimed to distinguish dose- and state-dependent effects of dexmedetomidine and propofol on EEG connectivity., Methods: Forty-seven healthy males received either dexmedetomidine (n=23) or propofol (n=24) as target-controlled infusion with stepwise increments until loss of responsiveness (LOR). We attempted to arouse participants during constant dosing (return of responsiveness [ROR]), and the target concentration was then increased 50% to achieve presumed loss of consciousness. We collected 64-channel EEG data and prefrontal-frontal and anterior-posterior functional connectivity in the alpha band (8-14 Hz) was measured using coherence and weighted phase lag index (wPLI). Directed connectivity was measured with directed phase lag index (dPLI)., Results: Prefrontal-frontal EEG-based connectivity discriminated the states at the different drug concentrations. At ROR, prefrontal-frontal connectivity reversed to the level observed before LOR, indicating that connectivity changes were related to unresponsiveness rather than drug concentration. Unresponsiveness was associated with emergence of frontal-to-prefrontal dominance (dPLI: -0.13 to -0.40) in contrast to baseline (dPLI: 0.01-0.02). Coherence, wPLI, and dPLI had similar capability to discriminate the states that differed in terms of responsiveness and drug concentration. In contrast, anterior-posterior connectivity in the alpha band did not differentiate LOR and ROR., Conclusions: Local prefrontal-frontal EEG-based connectivity reflects unresponsiveness induced by propofol or dexmedetomidine, suggesting its utility in monitoring the anaesthetised state with these agents., Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01889004., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Surgery and diseases modify inflammatory responses and the immune system. Anesthetic agents also have effects on the human immune system but the responses they induce may be altered or masked by the surgical procedures or underlying illnesses. The aim of this study was to assess how single-drug dexmedetomidine and propofol anesthesia without any surgical intervention alter acute immunological biomarkers in healthy subjects., Methods: Thirty-five healthy, young male subjects were anesthetized using increasing concentrations of dexmedetomidine (n = 18) or propofol (n = 17) until loss of responsiveness (LOR) was detected. The treatment allocation was randomized. Multi-parametric immunoassays for the detection of 48 cytokines, chemokines and growth factors were used. Concentrations were determined at baseline and at the highest drug concentration for each subject., Results: The changes in the concentration of eotaxin (decrease after dexmedetomidine) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF, increase after propofol) were statistically significantly different between the groups. Significant changes were detected within both groups; the concentrations of monocyte chemotactic protein 1, chemokine ligand 27 and macrophage migration inhibitory factor were lower in both groups after the drug administration. Dexmedetomidine decreased the concentration of eotaxin, interleukin-18, interleukin-2Rα, stem cell factor, stem cell growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor, and propofol decreased significantly the levels of hepatocyte growth factor, IFN-γ-induced protein 10 and monokine induced by IFN-γ, and increased the levels of interleukin-17, interleukin-5, interleukin-7 and PDGF., Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine seemed to have an immunosuppressive effect on the immune system whereas propofol seemed to induce mixed pro- and anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system. The choice of anesthetic agent could be relevant when treating patients with compromised immunological defense mechanisms., Trial Registration: Before subject enrollment, the study was registered in the European Clinical Trials database (EudraCT number 2013-001496-21, The Neural Mechanisms of Anesthesia and Human Consciousness) and in ClinicalTrials.gov (Principal Investigator: Harry Scheinin, number NCT01889004, The Neural Mechanisms of Anesthesia and Human Consciousness, Part 2, on the 23rd of June 2013).

Background: Differentiating drug-related changes and state-related changes on the electroencephalogram during anesthetic-induced unconsciousness has remained a challenge. To distinguish these, we designed a rigorous experimental protocol with two drugs known to have distinct molecular mechanisms of action. We hypothesized that drug- and state-related changes can be separated., Methods: Forty-seven healthy participants were randomized to receive dexmedetomidine (n = 23) or propofol (n = 24) as target-controlled infusions until loss of responsiveness. Then, an attempt was made to arouse the participant to regain responsiveness while keeping the drug infusion constant. Finally, the concentration was increased 1.5-fold to achieve presumable loss of consciousness. We conducted statistical comparisons between the drugs and different states of consciousness for spectral bandwidths, and observed how drug-induced electroencephalogram patterns reversed upon awakening. Cross-frequency coupling was also analyzed between slow-wave phase and alpha power., Results: Eighteen (78%) and 10 (42%) subjects were arousable during the constant drug infusion in the dexmedetomidine and propofol groups, respectively (P = 0.011 between the drugs). Corresponding with deepening anesthetic level, slow-wave power increased, and a state-dependent alpha anteriorization was detected with both drugs, especially with propofol. The slow-wave and frontal alpha activities were momentarily disrupted as the subjects regained responsiveness at awakening. Negative phase-amplitude coupling before and during loss of responsiveness frontally and positive coupling during the highest drug concentration posteriorly were observed in the propofol but not in the dexmedetomidine group., Conclusions: Electroencephalogram effects of dexmedetomidine and propofol are strongly drug- and state-dependent. Changes in slow-wave and alpha activity seemed to best detect different states of consciousness.

What happens in the brain when conscious awareness of the surrounding world fades? We manipulated consciousness in two experiments in a group of healthy males and measured brain activity with positron emission tomography. Measurements were made during wakefulness, escalating and constant levels of two anesthetic agents (experiment 1, n = 39), and during sleep-deprived wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement sleep (experiment 2, n = 37). In experiment 1, the subjects were randomized to receive either propofol or dexmedetomidine until unresponsiveness. In both experiments, forced awakenings were applied to achieve rapid recovery from an unresponsive to a responsive state, followed by immediate and detailed interviews of subjective experiences during the preceding unresponsive condition. Unresponsiveness rarely denoted unconsciousness, as the majority of the subjects had internally generated experiences. Unresponsive anesthetic states and verified sleep stages, where a subsequent report of mental content included no signs of awareness of the surrounding world, indicated a disconnected state. Functional brain imaging comparing responsive and connected versus unresponsive and disconnected states of consciousness during constant anesthetic exposure revealed that activity of the thalamus, cingulate cortices, and angular gyri are fundamental for human consciousness. These brain structures were affected independent from the pharmacologic agent, drug concentration, and direction of change in the state of consciousness. Analogous findings were obtained when consciousness was regulated by physiological sleep. State-specific findings were distinct and separable from the overall effects of the interventions, which included widespread depression of brain activity across cortical areas. These findings identify a central core brain network critical for human consciousness.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Trying to understand the biological basis of human consciousness is currently one of the greatest challenges of neuroscience. While the loss and return of consciousness regulated by anesthetic drugs and physiological sleep are used as model systems in experimental studies on consciousness, previous research results have been confounded by drug effects, by confusing behavioral "unresponsiveness" and internally generated consciousness, and by comparing brain activity levels across states that differ in several other respects than only consciousness. Here, we present carefully designed studies that overcome many previous confounders and for the first time reveal the neural mechanisms underlying human consciousness and its disconnection from behavioral responsiveness, both during anesthesia and during normal sleep, and in the same study subjects.