Similarities in consciousness occurring during sleep and sedation

Andrew J F Turner; Jordan Wehrman; Robert D Sanders

doi:10.1016/j.bja.2023.07.019

Similarities in consciousness occurring during sleep and sedation

Br J Anaesth. 2023 Oct;131(4):632-633. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.07.019.

Authors

Andrew J F Turner¹, Jordan Wehrman², Robert D Sanders³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anaesthesia, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Central Clinical School Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Central Clinical School Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Anaesthetics and Institute of Academic Surgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: robert.sanders@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 37718091
DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.07.019

Abstract

The subjective experiences of sedation or anaesthesia are underexplored. A recent study by Valli and colleagues (Br J Anaesth 2023; 131: 348-59) found similar frequency and content of recalled experiences after both non-rapid eye movement sleep and target-controlled infusions of propofol or dexmedetomidine titrated to verbal unresponsiveness. The authors find that the phenomenological similarities between consciousness during sleep and sedation mirror their physiological similarities. Intriguingly, in this small sample, conscious experience did not show a dose-dependent response suggesting other factors are important in determining the propensity for consciousness under sedation.

Keywords: anaesthesia; consciousness; dexmedetomidine; propofol; sedation; sleep; unresponsiveness.

Publication types

Editorial
Comment

MeSH terms

Anesthesia*
Anesthesiology*
Conscious Sedation
Consciousness
Humans
Sleep