Fig. 7.  A parallel memory systems model of anesthetic amnesia. (A ) Schematic demonstration of the principles of the parallel systems framework: the temporal course of memory results from consolidation in parallel systems operating in different time domains. We propose that propofol permits robust short-term performance, but performance rapidly decays as selective effects on long-term domains are unmasked (B ). In contrast, dexmedetomidine causes diffuse, nonselective attenuation, resulting in a memory that is weak but which transitions across the time domains with relative normality (C ). Modified from McGaugh52(McGaugh JL: Memory—a century of consolidation. Science 2000; 287:248–51), with permission from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.