In the 19 century, the discovery of general anesthesia revolutionized medical care. In the 21 century, anesthetics have become indispensable tools to study consciousness. Here, I review key aspects of the relationship between anesthesia and the neurobiology of consciousness, including interfaces of sleep and anesthetic mechanisms, anesthesia and primary sensory processing, the effects of anesthetics on large-scale functional brain networks, and mechanisms of arousal from anesthesia. I discuss the implications of the data derived from the anesthetized state for the science of consciousness and then conclude with outstanding questions, reflections, and future directions.

中文翻译：

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麻醉和意识的神经生物学


19 世纪，全身麻醉的发现彻底改变了医疗保健。进入21世纪，麻醉剂已成为研究意识不可或缺的工具。在这里，我回顾了麻醉与意识神经生物学之间关系的关键方面，包括睡眠和麻醉机制的界面、麻醉和初级感觉处理、麻醉剂对大规模功能性大脑网络的影响以及麻醉唤醒机制。我讨论了从麻醉状态获得的数据对意识科学的影响，然后以悬而未决的问题、反思和未来方向作为总结。