Brain Activity Passes Through Newly Detected States to Regain Consciousness

After exposure to surgical anesthesia, electrical activity in the brain gradually returns to its conscious patterns. However, new research  from Rockefeller University, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that resuming consciousness is not a simple process. New findings suggest the anesthetized brain must pass through certain “way stations” on the path back to consciousness. Experiments on rats monitored the local field potentials (LFPs) in particular parts of the brain associated with wakefulness and anesthesia. These recordings gave researchers a sensitive handle on the activities of whole groups of neurons in particular parts of the thalamus and cortex. “Recordings from each animal wound up having particular features that spontaneously appeared, suggesting their brain activity was abruptly transitioning through particular states,” said Andrew Hudson, now an assistant professor in anesthesiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We analyzed the probability of a brain jumping from one state to another, and we found that certain states act as hubs through which the brain must pass to continue on its way to consciousness.” To learn more about the study, click here.