bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
May 26, 2026
Joel I Berger, Matthew I Banks, Emily R Dappen et al.
preprint
Although much is known about the molecular and cellular effects of general anesthetics, the neural mechanisms underlying loss and recovery of consciousness during anesthesia remain elusive. We provide the first report of human single neuron activity recorded throughout emergence from general anesthesia. Following cessation of propofol infusion, emergence was assessed as motor response to verbal...
Translational Psychiatry
February 14, 2026
Michael H Sutherland, Christopher R. Nicholas, Richard C Lennertz et al.
The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin induces neural plasticity and profoundly alters consciousness. The benzodiazepine midazolam blunts neural plasticity and induces conscious sedation and amnesia at low doses. In our recent open label pilot study, we administered oral psilocybin (25 mg) along with intravenous midazolam at doses allowing a full psychedelic experience while blunting memory...
AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
June 3, 2025
Paloma C Frautschi, Ajay P Singh, Nicholas A Stowe et al.
2 citations
There is surging interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds like psilocybin in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses like major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent studies point to the rapid antidepressant effect of psilocybin; however, the biologic mechanisms underlying these differences remain unknown. This study determines the feasibility of using diffusion MRI to...
Translational Psychiatry
September 12, 2024
Christopher R. Nicholas, Matthew I Banks, Richard C Lennertz et al.
10 citations
Aspects of the acute experience induced by the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin predict symptomatic relief in multiple psychiatric disorders and improved well-being in healthy participants, but whether these therapeutic effects are immediate or are based on memories of the experience is unclear. To examine this, we co-administered psilocybin (25 mg) with the amnestic benzodiazepine midazolam...
Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
September 1, 2024
Zarmeen Zahid, Ziyad W. Sultan, Bryan M Krause et al.
5 citations
Serotonergic psychedelics and ketamine produce rapid and long-lasting symptomatic relief in multiple psychiatric disorders. Evidence suggests that despite having distinct molecular targets, both drugs may exert therapeutic benefit via their pro-neuroplastic effects. Following treatment with ketamine or serotonergic psychedelics, patients are reported to be more open to behavioral change, which...
British Journal of Anaesthesia
February 1, 2024
Cameron P Casey, Sean Tanabe, Zahra Z Farahbakhsh et al.
Understanding the neural correlates of consciousness has important ramifications for the theoretical understanding of consciousness and for clinical anaesthesia. A major limitation of prior studies is the use of responsiveness as an index of consciousness. We identified a collection of measures derived from unresponsive subjects and more specifically their association with consciousness (any...
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
August 23, 2023
Bryan M Krause, Declan I Campbell, Christopher K Kovach et al.
Theories of consciousness suggest that brain mechanisms underlying transitions into and out of unconsciousness are conserved no matter the context or precipitating conditions. We compared signatures of these mechanisms using intracranial electroencephalography in neurosurgical patients during propofol anesthesia and overnight sleep and found strikingly similar reorganization of human cortical...
Neuroimage
May 1, 2020
Matthew I Banks, Bryan M Krause, Christopher M Endemann et al.
78 citations
Disruption of cortical connectivity likely contributes to loss of consciousness (LOC) during both sleep and general anesthesia, but the degree of overlap in the underlying mechanisms is unclear. Both sleep and anesthesia comprise states of varying levels of arousal and consciousness, including states of largely maintained conscious experience (sleep: N1, REM; anesthesia: sedated but responsive)...