ArticleBritish journal of anaesthesia2026
Dexmedetomidine produces more sleep-like brain activity compared with propofol in human participants.
Article in British journal of anaesthesia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Multidimensional clinical evaluation of remimazolam versus propofol and dexmedetomidine: two systematic reviews and meta-analyses based on differentiated endpoints.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Pooled it
- Early reactivation of medial temporal lobe neurons during emergence from propofol anesthesia in neurosurgical patients.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Association of dexmedetomidine use during combined spinal-epidural anesthesia with postoperative sleep quality and anxiety in cesarean section: a prospective cohort study.BMC anesthesiology · 2026Observational
- Differential effects of propofol and dexmedetomidine on explicit and implicit memory after sedation: a retrospective study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Anesthesia-Informed Approaches to Insomnia: Shared Neural Circuits, Biomimetic Sleep, and Emerging Interventional Strategies.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Review
- Neurophysiological differences between dexmedetomidine sedation and natural sleep across the rodent lifespan: implications for aging and perioperative brain health.Anesthesiology and perioperative science · 2026Article
- Pharmacotherapy for sleep during critical illness and beyond.Frontiers in neurologyReview
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Abstract
backgroundDexmedetomidine is a selective α
methodsIntracranial encephalography recordings were obtained in 34 patients with epilepsy being evaluated for seizure resection surgery. Band power, functional connectivity, and network entropy were measured during task-free periods just before surgery, during anaesthesia with either dexmedetomidine or propofol, and during overnight sleep. Anaesthesia stage (wake, sedated, unresponsive) was determined using the Observer's Assessment of Arousal/Sedation. Sleep was staged using standard polysomnography.
resultsSignificant differences in delta power were observed during dexmedetomidine and propofol anaesthesia and during sleep. However, the magnitude of changes in delta power was smaller and regionally heterogeneous for propofol compared with dexmedetomidine and sleep, whereas changes in network entropy were larger for propofol compared with dexmedetomidine and sleep. Quantitative comparisons between changes in delta power and network entropy suggest that unresponsiveness under dexmedetomidine anaesthesia produces a similar brain state to that observed during N2 sleep.
conclusionsAlthough delta power, functional connectivity, and network entropy all showed changes during propofol, dexmedetomidine, and sleep, the magnitudes of these changes suggest that the effects of dexmedetomidine are more similar than those of propofol to sleep, specifically to N2 sleep.
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