Activating an anterior nucleus gigantocellularis subpopulation triggers emergence from pharmacologically-induced coma in rodents

Abstract

The reticular activating system (RAS) of the brainstem regulates wakefulness, and stimulation of RAS areas can reverse effects of anaesthesia. Here, the authors show that stimulation of a particular RAS area, the anterior portion of nucleus gigantocellularis, can produce arousal from deep coma.