Changes in amplitude and latency of the P300 component of the auditory evoked potential with sedative and anaesthetic concentrations of nitrous oxide.

The P300 component of the auditory evoked response was recorded from six subjects whilst they listened via headphones to a series of clicks which were interrupted unpredictably by a tone burst. They were instructed to press a button as quickly as possible after hearing the tone whilst breathing first air and then a series of increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide. Both the amplitude and the latency of the P300 changed in a dose-dependent manner with nitrous oxide, as did minimum reaction time. At nitrous oxide concentrations which prevented recall of any events that occurred whilst breathing the gas, four subjects continued to respond to the tone by pressing the button. In three subjects, the P300 wave was still detectable with a nitrous oxide concentration at which the task was no longer performed. These results show that there is retention of the ability to perform a reaction time task when there is a complete loss of recall of the task. There may be some recognition of an auditory stimulus, as manifest by a P300 wave, albeit reduced greatly in amplitude, in the absence of a motor response to it. The P300, therefore, merits investigation as a tool for studying conscious awareness under anaesthesia.