title: Propofol-induced alpha rhythm.
abstract: The electroencephalographic effects of two intravenous sedative/hypnotic drugs, propofol and thiopental, were studied at three stable blood concentrations in 52 normal healthy volunteers. The higher concentration resulted in unresponsiveness (lack of response to auditory/tactile stimuli) in all subjects. This report describes the strong frontal-central rhythms apparent in this state using a quantitative description of oscillatory systems underlying the rhythm. These rhythms occur when sedative drug concentrations are greater than those producing the well-described increase in broadband beta-power associated with many sedative drugs. Propofol induces rhythms in the alpha-range, while thiopental produces rhythms in the beta-range. Quasistationary for a period of about 1 h, these rhythms exceed the baseline alpha-rhythm in power. By their resonant nature, these propofol-induced rhythms are analogous to 'the classic alpha-rhythm', but quantitative characteristics of the underlying oscillatory systems are different. Baseline properties of the oscillatory system underlying the initial resting alpha-rhythm recover completely as drug concentration decays to negligible values.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. vladf@mindspring.com
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Feshchenko
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Veselis
authors.forename: Ruth A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Reinsel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000187:drug effects*; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D015742:Propofol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013874:Thiopental / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D013874:Thiopental; D015742:Propofol