General Anesthesia and Discrete Components of Ketamine Neurophysiology

Are the neurophysiologic signatures of ketamine altered by removal of conscious awareness under general anesthesia?This cohort study was a secondary analysis of participant-level data from 3 prospective studies in which subanesthetic ketamine was administered with or without general anesthesia. Unconsciousness was associated with preserved βγ power modulation but loss of θ augmentation.These findings suggest that unconsciousness from general anesthesia was associated with separation of the neurophysiologic components of ketamine effects, providing a method to explore the contributions of distinct aspects of ketamine physiology to therapeutic effects.

Corresponding Author: Boris D. Heifets, MD, PhD, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1050 Arastradero Rd, Bldg A, Room A151, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (bheifets@stanford.edu).

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