ArticleeLife2021
Neural effects of propofol-induced unconsciousness and its reversal using thalamic stimulation.
Article in eLife, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 101 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Thalamus and consciousness: a systematic review on thalamic nuclei associated with consciousness.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Thalamic deep brain stimulation in traumatic brain injury: a phase 1, randomized feasibility study.Nature medicine · 2023Trial
- Decreased Thalamic Activity Is a Correlate for Disconnectedness during Anesthesia with Propofol, Dexmedetomidine and Sevoflurane But Not S-Ketamine.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Trial
- Comprehensive profiling of brain dynamics during anesthesia across phylogeny.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Thalamic modulation of cortical linearity across arousal states.Science advances · 2026Article
- Cellular and Microcircuit Mechanisms of Anesthetic Disruption of Conscious-State Organization.Cells · 2026Review
- Catecholamine modulation of frontal cortical ignition during wakefulness, sleep and anesthesia.National science review · 2026Article
- Thalamic oscillations distinguish natural states of consciousness in humans.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Advances in local field potential research in prolonged disorders of consciousness: a narrative review.Chinese neurosurgical journal · 2026Review
- Mechanistic simulation identifies predictive dose-dependent biomarkers of propofol anesthesia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Thalamic sonication in chronic disorders of consciousness: a mechanistic single-arm clinical trial.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Propofol-induced loss of responsiveness reorganizes cortical traveling waves in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A two-system theory of sensory-evoked brain responses.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Convergent transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its anaesthetic breakdown across mammalian brains.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Testing circuit-level theories of consciousness in humans.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2026Review
- Sevoflurane Inhibits Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons via Kv1.2-Dependent Modulation of Subthreshold Currents.Journal of neurochemistry · 2026Article
- A thalamic perspective of (un)consciousness in pharmacological and pathological states in humans.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Article
- The Modulatory Effects of Anesthetics and Analgesics on Neurophysiological Monitoring and Underlying Mechanisms.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Impact of Anesthesia With Propofol on Epileptic Discharges Recorded by Stereo-Electroencephalography in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The specific circuit mechanisms through which anesthetics induce unconsciousness have not been completely characterized. We recorded neural activity from the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices and thalamus while maintaining unconsciousness in non-human primates (NHPs) with the anesthetic propofol. Unconsciousness was marked by slow frequency (~1 Hz) oscillations in local field potentials, entrainment of local spiking to Up states alternating with Down states of little or no spiking activity, and decreased coherence in frequencies above 4 Hz. Thalamic stimulation 'awakened' anesthetized NHPs and reversed the electrophysiologic features of unconsciousness. Unconsciousness is linked to cortical and thalamic slow frequency synchrony coupled with decreased spiking, and loss of higher-frequency dynamics. This may disrupt cortical communication/integration.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.