20210621 : Anesthesia and Consciousness

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We all fall asleep everyday. Naps, proper sleep etc. No matter how we sleep or dream or not. The body keeps time. When we wake up, we may not know the time, but we know we slept and approximately how long or short.

However, when we are administered general anesthesia, we have no clue. I have been under several times and I can vouch for it. I have never made it past 95 (when I have been asked to count backwards from 100) and my eyes close, much like a blink and when the blink is done and i open my eyes, the procedure is done or I'm in some recovery room. It doesn't matter if it was for a minute, an hour or many hours I am sure, its just a blink. It's like the body and mind were incapable of having a sense of time.

The chemical reactions of anesthesiology is known well. But we don't yet know how or why it works that way. There are theories and hypothesis, but no concrete knowledge. Just that it works.

The body is still carrying on with vital tasks like heart beat, lungs breathing, etc (Subdued), but working. But we can't feel any pain. The brain is working but you can't form any memories. They have studied it extensively and shown that the whole brain is working but different parts of the brain is not interacting with each other. 
Going under , medically, is called "medically induced reversible coma".

So what is consciousness? Forming memories/ ability to feel things/ being awake/ being generally aware of surroundings/ or something else?

Seems like we know when someone is Unconscious, but don't know what signifies th someone is Conscious...



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