Anesthesiology
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Promoting arousal by manipulating certain brain regions and/or neurotransmitters has been a recent research focus, with the goal of trying to improve recovery from general anesthesia. The current study tested the hypothesis that a single subanesthetic dose of ketamine during isoflurane anesthesia would increase cholinergic tone in the prefrontal cortex and accelerate recovery. ⋯ Administration of subanesthetic doses of ketamine during isoflurane anesthesia increases anesthetic depth but-paradoxically-accelerates the recovery of consciousness, possibly through cholinergic mechanisms.