Understanding the effects of anesthetic agents on the EEG through neural field theory.

Brett L Foster, Ingo Bojak, David T J Liley

Research output: Contribution to conference (unpublished)Otherpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Anesthetic and analgesic agents act through a diverse range of pharmacological mechanisms. Existing empirical data clearly shows that such "microscopic" pharmacological diversity is reflected in their "macroscopic" effects on the human electroencephalogram (EEG). Based on a detailed mesoscopic neural field model we theoretically posit that anesthetic induced EEG activity is due to selective parametric changes in synaptic efficacy and dynamics. Specifically, on the basis of physiologically constrained modeling, it is speculated that the selective modification of inhibitory or excitatory synaptic activity may differentially effect the EEG spectrum. Such results emphasize the importance of neural field theories of brain electrical activity for elucidating the principles whereby pharmacological agents effect the EEG. Such insights will contribute to improved methods for monitoring depth of anesthesia using the EEG.
Original languageEnglish
Pages4709-4712
Number of pages4
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Understanding the effects of anesthetic agents on the EEG through neural field theory.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this