The entwined mysteries of anesthesia and consciousness: Is there a common underlying mechanism?

Anesthesiology

Volumn 105, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 400-412

  Hameroff, Stuart R ^a,b,c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

4 AMINOBUTYRIC ACID; ANESTHETIC GAS; BARBITURIC ACID DERIVATIVE; ETOMIDATE; KETAMINE; NEUROTRANSMITTER; PROPOFOL;

AMNESIA; ANALGESIA; ANESTHESIST; BRAIN FUNCTION; CONSCIOUSNESS; DENDRITE; DEPOLARIZATION; ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM; ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY; EVOKED SOMATOSENSORY RESPONSE; EXCITATORY POSTSYNAPTIC POTENTIAL; FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; HUMAN; HYDROPHOBICITY; INHIBITORY POSTSYNAPTIC POTENTIAL; MUSCLE RELAXATION; NERVE CELL NETWORK; NERVE FIBER; NONHUMAN; POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROTEIN BINDING; PROTEIN CONFORMATION; QUANTUM THEORY; REVIEW; SOMATIC CELL; TRANQUILIZING ACTIVITY; UNCONSCIOUSNESS;

ANESTHESIA; ANESTHESIA, GENERAL; ANESTHETICS; BRAIN; BRAIN CHEMISTRY; CONSCIOUSNESS; ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY; HUMANS; NERVE NET; NERVE TISSUE PROTEINS;

EID: 33746599009     PISSN: 00033022     EISSN: 15281175     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/00000542-200608000-00024     Document Type: Review

References (99)

1. Campagna JA, Miller KW, Forman SA: Mechanisms of actions of inhaled anesthetics. N Engl J Med 2003; 348:2110-24
2. Rampil IJ, Mason P, Singh H: Anesthetic potency (MAC) is independent of forebrain structure in rats. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1993; 78:707-12
3. Veselis RA, Reinsel RA, Feschenko VA, Dnistrian AM: A neuroanatomical construct for the amnesic effects of propofol. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2002; 97:329-37
4. Alkire MT, Nathan SV: Does the amygdala mediate anesthetic-induced amnesia? Basolateral amygdala lesions block sevoflurane-induced amnesia. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2002; 102:754-60
5. Alkire MT, Haier RJ, Fallon JH: Toward a unified theory of narcosis: Brain imaging evidence for a thalamocortical switch as the neurophysiologic basis of anesthesia-induced unconsciousness. Conscious Cogn 2000; 9:370-86
6. John ER, Prichep LS: The anesthetic cascade: A theory of how anesthesia suppresses consciousness. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2005; 102:447-71
7. Dwyer R, Bennett HL, Eger EI II, Heilbron D: Effects of isoflurane and nitrous oxide in subanesthetic concentrations on memory and responsiveness in volunteers. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1992; 77:888-98
8. Ghoneim MM, Block RI: Learning and memory during general anesthesia: An update. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1997; 87:387-410
9. Roizen MF, Horrigan RW, Frazer BM: Anesthetic doses blocking adrenergic (stress) and cardiovascular responses to incision: MAC BAR. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1981; 54:390-8
10. Chalmers DJ: The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory. New York, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp xi-xiv
11. Dennett DC: Consciousness Explained. Boston, Little, Brown, 1991, pp 369-411
12. Dretske FI: Conscious experience. Mind 1993; 102:265-81
13. Baars BJ: In the theater of consciousness: Global workspace theory, a rigorous scientific theory of consciousness. J Consciousness Studies 1997; 4:292-309
14. Baars BJ: The conscious access hypothesis: Origins and recent evidence. Trends Cogn Sci 2002; 6:47-52
15. Zeki S: The disunity of consciousness. Trends Cogn Sci 2003; 7:214-8
16. Gray J: Consciousness: Creeping up on the Hard Problem. Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2004, p 272
17. Schmidt GN, Bishoff P, Standl T, Lankenau G, Hilbert M, Schulte am Esch J: Comparative evaluation of Narcotrend, bispectral index, and classical electroencephalographic variables during induction, maintenance, and emergence of a propofol/remifentanil anesthesia. Anesth Analg 2004; 98:1346-53
18. Vanluchene AL, Vereecje H, Thas O, Mortier EP, Shafer SL, Struys MM: Spectral entropy as an electroencephalographic measure of anesthetic drug effect: A comparison with Bispectral Index and processed midlatency auditory evoked response. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2004; 101:34-42
19. Struys MM, Jensen EW, Smith W, Smith NT, Rampil IJ, Dumortier FJE, Mestach C, Mortier EP: Performance of the ARX-derived auditory evoked potential index as an indicator of anesthetic depth: A comparison with Bispectral Index and hemodynamic measures during propofol administration. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2002; 96:803-16
20. Imas OA, Ropella KM, Ward BD, Wood JD, Hudetz AG: Volatile anesthetics disrupt frontal-posterior recurrent information transfer at gamma frequencies in rat. Neurosci Lett 2005; 387:145-50
21. John ER: A field theory of consciousness. Consciousness Cogn 2001; 10:184-213
22. Roelfsema PR, Engel AK, König P, Singer W: Visuomotor integration is associated with zero time-lag synchronization among cortical areas. Nature 1997 385:156-61
23. Schoffelen JM, Oostenveld R, Fries P: Neuronal coherence as a mechanism of effective corticospinal interaction. Science 2005; 308:111-3
24. Freeman WJ, Gaal G, Jornten R: A neurobiological theory of meaning in perception: III. Multiple cortical area synchronize without loss of local autonomy. Int J Bifurcation Chaos 2003 13:2845-56
25. Koch CK: The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach. Englewood, Colorado, Roberts, 2004, p 36
26. Freeman WJ, Baird B: Effects of applied electric current fields on cortical neural activity, Computational Neuroscience. Edited by Schwartz E. New York, Plenum, 1989, pp 274-87
27. Freeman WJ, Vitiello G: Nonlinear brain dynamics as macroscopic many-body field dynamics. Phys Life Rev 2006; 3:93-118
28. Mashour GA: Consciousness unbound: Toward a paradigm of general anesthesia. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2004; 100:428-33
29. Freeman WJ: A field-theoretical approach to understanding scale-free neocortical dynamics. Biol Cybern 2005; 92/6:350-9
30. Hebb DO: Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1949, pp 62-6
31. Freeman WJ: Origin, structure, and role of background EEG activity: I. Analytic amplitude. Clin Neurophysiol 2004; 115:2077-88
32. Fukuda T, Kosaka T: The dual network of GABAergic interneurons linked by both chemical and electrical synapses: A possible infrastructure of the cerebral cortex. Neurosci Res 2000; 38:123-30
33. Bennett MV, Zukin RS: Electrical coupling and neuronal synchronization in the mammalian brain. Neuron 2004; 41:495-511
34. Kandel ER, Schwartz JS, Jessell TM: Principles of Neural Science, 4th edition. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2000, pp 177-80
35. Niessing J, Ebisch B, Schmidt KE, Niessing M, Singer W, Galuske RAW: Hemodynamic signals correlate tightly with synchronized gamma oscillations. Science 2005; 309:948-51
36. Poirazi PF, Mel BW: Impact of active dendrites and structural plasticity on the memory capacity of neural tissue. Neuron 2001; 29:779-96
37. Sassoè-Pognetto M, Ottersen OP: Organization of ionotropic glutamate receptors at dendrodendritic synapses in the rat olfactory bulb. J Neurosci 2000; 20:2192-201
38. Ferster D: Is neural noise just a nuisance? Science 1996; 273:1812
39. Eccles JC: Evolution of consciousness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1992; 89:7320-4
40. Pribram KH: Brain and Perception. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991, pp 7-11
41. Kasischke KA, Webb WW: Producing neuronal energy (letter). Science 2004; 306:410-1
42. Changeux JP, Edelstein S: Allosteric mechanisms of signal transduction. Science 2005; 308:1424-8
43. Karplus M, McCammon JA: Protein ion channels, gates, receptors, Dynamics of Proteins: Elements and Function Annual Reviews of Biochemistry. Edited by King J. Menlo Park, Benjamin/Cummings, 1983, pp 263-300
44. Voet D, Voet JG: Biochemistry, 2nd edition. New York, Wiley, 1995, pp 175-6
45. Burley SK, Petsko GA: Aromatic-aromatic interaction: A mechanism of protein structure stabilization. Science 1985; 229:23-8
46. A receptor. J Neurosci 2001; 21:RC136
47. Sataric MV, Zekovic S, Tuszynski JA, Pokorny J: The Mössbauer effect as a possible tool in detecting nonlinear excitations in microtubules. Phys Rev E 1998; 58:6333-9
48. Conrad M: Amplification of superpositional effects through electronic conformational interactions. Chaos Solitons Fractals 1994; 4:423-38
49. Fröhlich H: Long range coherence and the actions of enzymes (letter). Nature 1970; 228:1093
50. Vos MH, Rappaport J, Lambry JC, Breton J, Martin JL: Visualization of coherent nuclear motion in a membrane protein by femtosecond laser spectroscopy. Nature 1992; 363:320-5
51. Marshall IN: Consciousness and Bose-Einstein condensates. New Ideas Psychol 1989; 7:73-83
52. Irifune M, Takarada T, Shimizu Y, Endo C, Katayama S, Dohi T, Kawahara M: Propofol-induced anesthesia in mice is mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid-A and excitatory amino acid receptors,. Anesth Analg 2003; 97:424-9
53. Sances A, Larson S: Electroanesthesia: Biomedical and Biophysical Studies. New York, Academic Press, 1975, pp 21-7
54. Meyer HH: Zur Theorie der Alkoholnarkose. Der Einfluss wechselnder Temperatur auf Wirkungsstärke und Theilungscoefficient der Narcotica. Arch Exp Path Pharmakol 1901; 42:338-46
55. Overton CE: Studies of narcosis and a contribution to general pharmacology, Studies of Narcosis. Edited by Lipnick RL. London, Chapman and Hall and the Wood Library-Museum of Anaesthesiology, 1991, pp 1-203
56. Miller KW, Paton WDM, Smith EB, Smith RA: Physico-chemical approaches to the mode of action of general anaesthetics. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1971; 36:339-51
57. Taheri S, Halsey MJ, Liu J, Eger EI II, Koblin DD, Laster MJ: What solvent best represents the site of action of inhaled anesthetics in humans, rats, and dogs? Anesth Analg 1991; 72:627-34
58. Sandorfy C: Weak intermolecular associations and anesthesia. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2004; 101:1225-7
59. Trudell JR, Koblin DD, Eger EI II: A molecular description of how noble gases and nitrogen bind to a model site of anesthetic action. Anesth Analg 1998; 87:411-8
60. Xu Y, Tang P: Amphiphilic sites for general anesthetic action? Evidence from 129Xe-[1H] intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects. Biochim Biophys Acta 1997; 1323:154-62
61. Miller KW, Alifimoff JK: Mechanisms of action of general anesthetics, Principles and Practice of Anesthesiology. Edited by Longnecker DE, Tinker JH, Morgan GE. St. Louis, Mosby, 1998, pp 1103-22
62. Franks NP, Lieb WR: Stereospecific effects of inhalational general anesthetic optical isomers on nerve ion channels. Science 1991; 254:427-30
63. Wulf RJ, Featherstone RM: A correlation of van der Waal's constants with anesthetic potency. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1957; 18:97-105
64. Halsey MJ, Brown FF, Richards RE: Perturbations of model protein systems as a basis for the central and peripheral mechanisms of general anaesthesia. Ciba Foundation Symposium 1977; (60):123-36
65. Leake CD: Claude Bernard and anesthesia. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1971; 35:112-3
66. Kaech S, Brinkhaus H, Matus A: Volatile anesthetics block actin-based motility in dendritic spines. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1999; 96:10433-7
67. Franks NP, Lieb WR: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of general anaesthesia. Nature 1994; 367:607-14
68. Cantor R: The lateral pressure profile in membranes: a physical mechanism of general anesthesia. Biophys J 1997; 36:2339-44
69. Eckenhoff MF, Chan K, Eckenhoff RG: Multiple specific binding targets for inhaled anesthetics in the mammalian brain. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2002; 300:172-9
70. Larrabee MG, Posternak JM: Selective action of anesthetics on synapses and axons in mammalian sympathetic ganglia. J Neurophysiol 1952; 15:91-114
71. Wu X-S, Sun J-Y, Evers AS, Crowder M, Wu L-G: Isoflurane inhibits transmitter release and the presynaptic action potential. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2004; 100:663-770
72. Xi J, Liu R, Asbury GR, Eckenhoff RG, Eckenhoff MF: Inhalational anesthetic-binding proteins in rat neuronal membranes. J Biol Chem 2004; 279:19628-33
73. Franks NP, Lieb WR: Which molecular targets are most relevant to general anaesthesia? Toxicol Lett 1998; 100-101:1-8
74. Eckenhoff RG: Promiscuous ligands and attractive cavities: How do the inhaled anesthetics work? Mol Interventions 2001; 1:258-68
75. Johnson T, Monk T, Rasmussen LS, Abidstrom H, Houx P, Korttila K, Kuipers HM, Hanning CD, Siersma VD, Kristensen D, Canet J, Ibanaz MT, Moller JT: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction in the middle-aged patients. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2002; 96:1351-7
76. Masaki E, Kawamura M, Kato F: Attenuation of gap-junction-mediated signaling facilitated anesthetic effect of sevoflurane in the central nervous system of rats. Anesth Analg 2004; 98:647-52
77. Harrison NL, Kugler JL, Jones MV, Greenblatt EP, Pritchett DB: Positive modulation of human gamma-aminobutyric acid type, A, and glycine receptors by the inhalation anesthetic isoflurane. Mol Pharmacol 1993; 44:628-32
78. Zhang Y, Sonner JM, Eger EI 2nd, Stabernack CR, Laster MJ, Raines DE, Harris RA: Gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptors do not mediate the immobility produced by isoflurane. Anesth Analg 2004; 99:85-90
79. Yamakura T, Harris RA: Effects of gaseous anesthetics nitrous oxide and xenon on ligand-gated ion channels: Comparison with isoflurane and ethanol. ANESTHESIOLOGY 2000; 93:1095-101
80. Evers AS, Steinbach JH: Double-edged swords: Volatile anesthetics both enhance and inhibit ligand-gated ion channels. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1999; 90:1-3
81. Koblin DD, Chortkoff BS, Laster MJ, Eger EI II, Halsey MJ, Ionescu P: Polyhalogenated and perfluorinated compounds that disobey the Meyer-Overton hypothesis. Anesth Analg 1994; 79:1043-8
82. Fang ZX, Sonner J, Laster MJ, Ionescu P, Kandel L, Koblin DD, Eger EI II, Halsey MJ: Anesthetic and convulsant properties of aromatic compounds and cycloalkanes: Implications for mechanisms of narcosis. Anesth Analg 1996; 83:1097-104
83. Franks NP, Lieb WR: Do general anaesthetics act by competitive binding to specific receptors? Nature 1984; 310:599-601
84. Bhattacharya AA, Curry S, Franks NP: Binding of the general anesthetics propofol and halothane to human serum albumin: High resolution crystal structures. J Biol Chem 2000; 275:38731-8
85. Raines DE: Perturbation of lipid and protein structure by general anesthetics: How little is too little? ANESTHESIOLOGY 2000; 92:1492-4
86. Hameroff S: Anesthesia, consciousness and hydrophobic pockets: A unitary quantum hypothesis of anesthetic action. Toxicol Lett 1998; 100/101:31-9
87. Johansson JS, Solt K, Reddy KS: Binding of the general anesthetics chloroform and 2,2,2-trichloroethanol to the hydrophobic core of a four-alpha-helix bundle proteins. Photochem Photobiol 2003; 77:89-95
88. Hameroff SR, Watt RC: Do anesthetics act by altering electron mobility? Anesth Analg 1983; 62:936-40
89. Hameroff SR, Watt RC, Borel JD, Carlson G: General anesthetics directly inhibit electron mobility: Dipole dispersion theory of anesthetic action. Physiol Chem Phys 1982; 14:183-7
90. Stevens RJ, Rusch D, Davies PA, Raines DE: Molecular properties important for inhaled anesthetic action on human 5-HT3A receptors. Anesth Analg 2005; 100:1696-703
91. Fahmy A, Wagner G: TreeDock: A tool for protein docking based on minimizing van der Waals energies. J Am Chem Soc 2002; 124:1241-50
92. Lashley KS: The problem of cerebral organization in vision, edited by Cattell J, Biological Symposia. Vol VII. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, The Jacques Cattell Press, 1942, pp 301-22
93. Bullock TH: The neuron doctrine and electrophysiology. Science 1959; 129:997-1002
94. Penrose R: Shadows of the mind: A search for the missing science of consciousness. Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 1994, pp 355-60
95. Stapp HP: Mind, Matter and Quantum Mechanics. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1993, pp 126-9, 155-60
96. Hameroff S: Quantum computation in brain microtubules? The Penrose-Hameroff "Orch OR" model of consciousness.Philos Trans R Soc London A1998; 356:1869-96
97. Tegmark M: The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes. Phys Rev E 2000; 61:4194-206
98. Hagan S, Hameroff S, Tuszynski J: Quantum computation in brain microtubules? Decoherence and biological feasibility. Phys Rev E 2002; 65:061901
99. Ouyang M, Awschalom DD: Coherent spin transfer between molecularly bridged quantum dots. Science 2003; 301:1074-8