The anaesthetic propofol shifts the frequency of maximum spectral power in EEG during general anaesthesia: Analytical insights from a linear model

Abstract

The work introduces a linear neural population model that allows to derive analytically the power spectrum subjected to the concentra- tion of the anaesthetic propofol. The analytical study of the power spectrum of the systems activity gives conditions on how the frequency of maximum power in experimental EEG changes dependent on the propofol concentration. In this context, we explain the anaesthetic- induced power increase in neural activity by an oscillatory instability and derive conditions under which the power peak shifts to larger frequencies as observed experimentally in EEG. Moreover the work predicts that the power increase only occurs while the frequency of maximum power increases. Numerically simulations of the systems activity complement the analytical results. © 2013 Hutt.