Anesthetic action on the transmission delay between cortex and thalamus explains the beta-buzz observed under propofol anesthesia

In recent years, more and more surgeries under general anesthesia have been performed with the assistance of electroencephalogram (EEG) monitors. An increase in anesthetic concentration leads to characteristic changes in the power spectra of the EEG. Although tracking the anesthetic-induced changes in EEG rhythms can be employed to estimate the depth of anesthesia, their precise underlying mechanisms are still unknown. A prominent feature in the EEG of some patients is the emergence of a strong power peak in the β–frequency band, which moves to the α–frequency band while increasing the anesthetic concentration. This feature is called the beta-buzz. In the present study, we use a thalamo-cortical neural population feedback model to reproduce observed characteristic features in frontal EEG power obtained experimentally during propofol general anesthesia, such as this beta-buzz. First, we find that the spectral power peak in the α– and δ–frequency ranges depend on the decay rate constant of excitatory and inhibitory synapses, but the anesthetic action on synapses does not explain the beta-buzz. Moreover, considering the action of propofol on the transmission delay between cortex and thalamus, the model reveals that the beta-buzz may result from a prolongation of the transmission delay by increasing propofol concentration. A corresponding relationship between transmission delay and anesthetic blood concentration is derived. Finally, an analytical stability study demonstrates that increasing propofol concentration moves the systems resting state towards its stability threshold

System of delay difference equations with continuous time with lag function between two known functions

The asymptotic behavior of solutions of the system of difference equations with continuous time and lag function between two known real functions is studied. The cases when the lag function is between two linear delay functions, between two power delay functions and between two constant delay functions are observed and illustrated by examples. The asymptotic estimates of solutions of the considered system are obtained

Das Spektrum zeitverzögerter Differentialgleichungen: numerische Methoden, Stabilität und Störungstheorie

Three types of problems related to delay-differential equations (DDEs) are treated in this thesis. We first consider the problem of numerically computing the eigenvalues of a DDE. Here, we present an application of a projection method for nonlinear eigenvalue problems (NLEPs). We compare this projection method with other methods, suggested in the literature, and used in software packages. The projection method is computationally superior to all of the other tested method for the presented large-scale examples. We give interpretations of methods based on discretizations in terms of rational approximations. Some notes regarding a special case where the spectrum can be explicitly expressed with a formula containing a matrix version of the are Lambert W function are presented. We clarify its range of applicability, and, by counter-example, show that it does not hold in general. The second part of this thesis is related to exact stability conditions of the DDE. All those combinations of the delays such that there is a purely imaginary eigenvalue (called critical delays) are parameterized. In general, an evaluation of the parameterization map consists of solving a quadratic eigenvalue problem of squared dimension. We show how the computational cost for one evaluation of the map can be reduced by exploiting a relation to a Lyapunov equation. The third and last part of this thesis is about generalizations of perturbation results for NLEPs. A sensitivity formula for the movement of the eigenvalues extends to NLEPs. We introduce a fixed point form for the NLEP, and show that some methods in the literature can be interpreted as set-valued fixed point iterations for which asymptotic convergence can be established. We also show how the Bauer-Fike theorem can be generalized to the NLEP under special conditions.In dieser Arbeit werden drei verschiedene Problemklassen im Bezug zu delay-differential equations (DDEs) behandelt. Als erstes gehen wir auf die Berechnung der Eigenwerte von DDEs ein. In dieser Arbeit wenden wir eine Projektionsmethode für nichtlineare Eigenwertprobleme (NLEPe) an. Wir vergleichen diese mit anderen bereits bekannten Verfahren, wobei die hier vorgestellte Methode bedeutend bessere numerische Eigenschaften für die verwendeten Beispiele hat. Zusätzlich treffen wir Aussagen über Diskretisierungsmethoden zur rationalen Approximation. Desweiteren betrachten wir einen Spezialfall, bei welchem das Spektrum explizit mit Hilfe einer Matrix-Version der Lambert W-Funktion dargestellt werden kann. Für diese Formel bestimmen wir einen möglichen Anwendungsbereich. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit werden exakte Stabilitätsbedingungen von DDEs betrachtet. Die Menge der Delays, für welche die DDE einen imaginären Eigenwert hat (sogenannte kritische Delays), wird parameterisiert. Im Allgemeinen ist zur Auswertung der Parametrisierungsabbildung das Lösen eines quadratischen Eigenwertproblems nötig, dessen Größe dem Quadrat der Dimension der DDE entspricht. Wir zeigen wie der Rechenaufwand durch Ausnutzung einer Lyapunov-Gleichung reduziert werden kann. Der letzte Teil dieser Arbeit befasst sich mit der Verallgemeinerung der Störungstheorie auf NLEPe. Unter anderem lässt sich eine Sensitivitätsformel auf NLEPe erweitern. Desweiteren wird eine Fixpunktform für NLEPe vorgestellt, und gezeigt dass einige Methoden aus der Literatur als mengenwertige Fixpunktiterationen dargestellt werden können, für welche wir asymptotische Konvergenz feststellen. Wir zeigen zusätzlich, dass das Bauer-Fike Theorem unter bestimmten Bedingungen auf NLEPe verallgemeinert werden kann