General anesthesia selectively extinguishes consciousness, but how chemically diverse anesthetics achieve this remains unresolved. This paper builds an eight-principle integrative pathway connecting evidence from quantum biology, microtubule physics, anesthesia research, non-equilibrium coherence, and information theories of consciousness. It separates two often-conflated interpretations: the quantum production model, where the brain internally generates quantum information, and the quantum transduction model, where the brain receives and converts quantum information through a coherence-supported biological substrate. Current data do not distinguish these models.
Biological death may involve a brief window of increased quantum coherence in the brain, driven by the release of stored cellular energy, which could explain near-death experiences (NDEs). A quantum-thermodynamic framework models death as a transient boundary event rather than immediate informational disappearance. Prospective studies report 10–20% of cardiac-arrest survivors describe NDEs, with one 344-patient cohort showing an 18% incidence. Dying-brain EEG recordings show paradoxical gamma surges near death. The model, calibrated to reproduce the 18% incidence and NDE depth distribution, predicts hypothermia should increase NDE frequency by slowing decoherence, while anesthesia should decrease it. The paper does not prove consciousness survives death but argues information transfer at death is not obviously prohibited by known physics.