concept

general anesthesia

Also known as: general anaesthesia, general anaesthetic

Facts (12)

Sources

AI Sessions #9: The Case Against AI Consciousness (with Anil Seth) conspicuouscognition.com Conspicuous Cognition Feb 17, 2026 8 facts

perspectiveAnil Seth argues that while sleep is complex and often involves mental content, general anaesthesia represents a true absence of experience rather than an experience of absence.

claimAnil Seth asserts that at a sufficiently deep level of general anaesthesia, the brain can be 'flatlined,' providing a benchmark baseline for a state of no consciousness in a living human.

claimHenry Shevlin notes that the classification of dreamless sleep and general anesthesia as examples of losing consciousness is contested in debates around consciousness.

claimHenry Shevlin notes that the administration of amnestics as part of general anaesthesia protocols raises suspicions about whether patients are truly unconscious during the procedure.

claimAnil Seth states that the medical practice of administering amnestics during general anaesthesia exists because anaesthesiologists have historically lacked certainty regarding the patient's level of consciousness.

claimAnil Seth defines consciousness as the subjective, experiential aspect of mental life, which is lost during dreamless sleep or general anesthesia and returns upon waking or dreaming.

claimDan Williams notes that biological processes such as digestion continue to occur under general anaesthesia, even though the organism is not conscious during that state.

claimNed Block has expressed skepticism regarding whether general anaesthesia completely eliminates all phenomenal consciousness.

A Synergistic Workspace for Human Consciousness Revealed by ... elifesciences.org eLife 1 fact

claimLoss of consciousness due to general anaesthesia or disorders of consciousness corresponds to a diminished ability of the synergistic workspace to integrate information, which is restored upon recovery.

Ancient Roots of Today's Emerging Renaissance in ... link.springer.com Springer 1 fact

claimThe safety and efficacy of modern psychedelic therapy are optimized by wraparound care, similar to how general anesthesia is administered under active medical supervision within a larger interventional context, according to Johnson et al. (2008).

Thinking about the action potential: the nerve signal as a window to ... frontiersin.org Frontiers 1 fact

referenceAl-Rekabi et al. (2019) published research in Acta Biomaterialia titled 'Electrophysiological-mechanical coupling in the neuronal membrane and its role in ultrasound neuromodulation and general anaesthesia,' which explores the relationship between mechanical and electrical properties in neuronal membranes.

Consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2025 ... plato.stanford.edu Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Jun 18, 2004 1 fact

referenceH. Flohr, U. Glade, and D. Motzko published 'The role of the NMDA synapse in general anesthesia' in Toxicology Letters in 1998.