<span><b style="">EEG Frequencies related to anesthetic agents
<br></b></span><br><span>Alpha</span>: maximum in awake patients with eyes closed, appears in the occiput
<br><br>Alpha is created by thalamic pacemaker cells
<br><br>Alpha synchronizes cells in the thalamocortical pathways
<br><br>An <b>anesthetic </b>(American English) or <b>anaesthetic </b>(British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia - in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two broad classes: general anesthetics, which result in a reversible loss of consciousness, and local anesthetics, which cause a reversible loss of sensation for a limited region of the body without necessarily affecting consciousness.
<br><br>A wide variety of drugs are used in modern anesthetic practice. Many are rarely used outside anesthesiology, but others are used commonly in various fields of healthcare. Combinations of anesthetics are sometimes used for their synergistic and additive therapeutic effects. Adverse effects, however, may also be increased.<sup>[1]</sup> Anesthetics are distinct from analgesics, which block only sensation of painful stimuli.