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Cited by 1,295Anesthesia and Sedative AgentsAnesthesia and Neurotoxicity ResearchSleep and Wakefulness Research

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General anaesthesia: from molecular targets to neuronal pathways of sleep and arousal

Franks, Nicholas P.·2008·Nature Reviews Neuroscience
DOI 10.1038/nrn2372
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Abstract

The mechanisms through which general anaesthetics, an extremely diverse group of drugs, cause reversible loss of consciousness have been a long-standing mystery. Gradually, a relatively small number of important molecular targets have emerged, and how these drugs act at the molecular level is becoming clearer. Finding the link between these molecular studies and anaesthetic-induced loss of consciousness presents an enormous challenge, but comparisons with the features of natural sleep are helping us to understand how these drugs work and the neuronal pathways that they affect. Recent work suggests that the thalamus and the neuronal networks that regulate its activity are the key to understanding how anaesthetics cause loss of consciousness.

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  • Anesthetics at sedative doses induce states resembling deep NREM sleep.

    “Anesthetics at sedative doses, which induce states resembling deep NREM sleep2,13, were also reported to increase clearance3,14,15.”

    From Brain clearance is reduced during sleep and anesthesia (2024) · cites this paper as [13]

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Metadata

Authors
Franks, N. P.
Affiliations
Imperial College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Franks, Nicholas P.
ORCID
Franks, Nicholas P.
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2008-05
Volume
9
Issue
5
Pages
370-386
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
DOI
10.1038/nrn2372
OpenAlex
W1978348024
Cited by
1,295
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 56 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 62 · 2021: 83 · 2020: 79 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 84 · 2017: 70 · 2016: 70 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 90 · 2013: 81 · 2012: 66
FWCI
12.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Anesthesia and Sedative Agents
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Keywords
general anesthesia, loss of consciousness, slow-wave sleep, thalamus, neural pathways, anesthetic mechanisms
MeSH terms
Animals, Arousal, Humans, Models, Biological, Nerve Net, Neural Pathways, Sleep, Thalamus, Receptors, GABA, Anesthetics, General

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