Pretreating patients with a small dose of esketamine (0.15 mg/kg) two minutes before administering the anesthetic etomidate significantly reduces the occurrence and severity of muscle jerks (myoclonus) that etomidate often causes. In a trial with 100 adults undergoing general surgery, myoclonus occurred in 20% of those given esketamine versus 62% of those given a placebo. The pretreatment also lessened moderate and severe myoclonus, though it did not affect mild cases. Blood pressure and heart rate remained stable, and side effects such as dizziness, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, and hallucinations were similar between groups.
This paper surveys several major theories of human consciousness from information theory, quantum physics, cognitive psychology, physiology, and computer science, aiming to connect them through a computational lens. It also reviews existing metrics for evaluating consciousness and discusses whether current computational models could be conscious. The authors argue that understanding consciousness is a crucial step toward building general artificial intelligence.