Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers
Published on: January 13, 2018
Altered local coherence in the default mode network due to sevoflurane anesthesia
Gopikrishna Deshpande1, Chantal Kerssens, Peter Simon Sebel
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Integrated local correlation (ILC) reveals brain connectivity changes during sevoflurane anesthesia. Light anesthesia partially restores default mode network connectivity, but frontal regions show persistent disruption.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Anesthesiology
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Local brain connectivity is crucial for cognitive functions.
- Anesthetics like sevoflurane can alter brain activity and connectivity.
- The default mode network (DMN) is sensitive to anesthetic agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sevoflurane anesthesia on local brain connectivity.
- To assess changes in integrated local correlation (ILC) within the DMN under varying sevoflurane concentrations.
- To evaluate the effect of wavelet denoising on fMRI data analysis during anesthesia.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from healthy volunteers.
- Integrated local correlation (ILC) was calculated in DMN regions.
- Wavelet denoising was applied to address signal-to-noise ratio variations during anesthesia.
Main Results:
- Sevoflurane anesthesia significantly reduced ILC in the entire DMN at 2% concentration.
- At 1% sevoflurane, ILC recovered in posterior and anterior cingulate cortices and inferior parietal cortex.
- Frontal DMN regions showed sustained ILC attenuation at 1% sevoflurane, indicating prefrontal uncoupling.
Conclusions:
- Sevoflurane induces widespread cortical suppression, affecting local brain connectivity.
- Light anesthesia reveals differential recovery patterns within the DMN.
- The prefrontal cortex's local connectivity is rapidly affected by sevoflurane, suggesting potential direct anesthetic action or disruption of network communication.
Related Concept Videos
Stages of General Anesthesia
General Anesthesia: Overview
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview
Local Anesthetics: Mechanism of Action
Local anesthetics are amphiphilic molecules consisting of a hydrophobic aromatic part linked to a hydrophilic group by an ester or amide linkage. They are weak bases and are usually available as salts, which increases their solubility and stability. Once administered, LAs exist in the body either...
Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia
One of the advantages of...
