Researchers have long been perplexed by how general anesthetics such as propo-fol cause unconsciousness, Laura Lewis et al. (pp 19891-19892) investigated the changes in neural activ-ity that occur during the loss of consciousness by measur-ing the electrophysiological signals from neurons and neuronal networks during propofol-induced anesthesia in three patients undergoing planned surgery for epilepsy. As the patients transitioned into unconsciousness, the authors observed an abrupt increase in a signal known as slow oscillation.
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