Fractional Neural Field Modeling of Consciousness Transitions under Anesthesia: Multi-Scale Integration from Molecular Mechanisms to EEG Signatures
Rex Igwe, Divine Allen, Goodness Nwanna
A new mathematical model of brain activity, using fractional-order calculus to account for memory-dependent neural processes, can predict how anesthetic drugs affect EEG signatures. The model integrates receptor dynamics for GABA, NMDA, and K2P channels and network connectivity. It reproduces classical EEG features like alpha oscillations and 1/f scaling, and predicts novel behaviors such as prolonged transients under ketamine and subexponential drifts in gray-zone anesthesia. The work provides a framework for understanding consciousness transitions and has implications for anesthetic management.