Figure 5. A possible mechanism of anesthesia-induced relearning deficits.

Schematic representations of possible cellular processes in pure (A) and mixture (B) odor learning, relearning, and recognition. Circles, triangles, diamonds, and squares symbolize sensory input, cellular coding, cellular integration, and memory consolidation, respectively. Blue and red colors represent two distinct pure odorants and their separate anatomical coding pathways. Gray triangles indicate an absence of experience-induced Npas4 activation. Solid and broken arrows represent successful and unsuccessful cellular processes, respectively. Green and black arrows represent novel and familiar information processes, respectively. Odor coding under propofol anesthesia creates an unconscious cellular commitment that, while irretrievable, prevents future relearning of the same sensory information.