British journal of anaesthesia
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Review Meta Analysis
Benefits and risks of epidural analgesia in cardiac surgery†.
Epidural analgesia reduces all-cause mortality after cardiac surgery, at the cost of a 1 in 3,500 risk of epidural hematoma.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of propofol on the medial temporal lobe emotional memory system: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in human subjects.
Subclinical doses of propofol produce anterograde amnesia, characterized by an early failure of memory consolidation. It is unknown how propofol affects the amygdala-dependent emotional memory system, which modulates consolidation in the hippocampus in response to emotional arousal and neurohumoral stress. We present an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the effects of propofol on the emotional memory system in human subjects. ⋯ NCT00504894.
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As opposed to conscious, personally relevant (explicit) memories that we can recall at will, implicit (unconscious) memories are prototypical of 'hidden' memory; memories that exist, but that we do not know we possess. Nevertheless, our behaviour can be affected by these memories; in fact, these memories allow us to function in an ever-changing world. It is still unclear from behavioural studies whether similar memories can be formed during anaesthesia. ⋯ Function of sensory cortices and thalamic activity during anaesthesia are reviewed. The role of sensory and perisensory cortices, in particular the auditory cortex, in support of memory function is discussed. Although improbable, with the current knowledge of neurophysiology one cannot rule out the possibility of memory formation during anaesthesia.