Propofol May Prevent Brain From Working as a Unit

Scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital studied a hypothesis that anesthesia drugs bring about sedation by causing different parts of the brain to lose functional integration, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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The scientists studied the electrical activity of three patients while under anesthesia. All of the patients were epileptics and had been in the hospital to have their epilepsy monitored.

When the subjects lost consciousness from anesthesia, a new element of brain activity called slow oscillation immediately arose. The researchers concluded that the propofol administered prevented different parts of the brain from working as a unit.

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