Consciousness and cognition
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This paper discusses the ways in which anesthetic agents can be used to investigate the role of awareness in learning and memory. It reviews research into learning during light, subclinical anesthesia, termed hypesthesia. ⋯ Overall, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis (e.g., Caseley-Rondi, 1996) that frontal lobe function is particularly sensitive to anesthetics. They raise theoretical and practical questions about the necessity of consciousness for learning and about interpretation of the evidence for learning during surgery under general anesthesia.