The unsolved science of general anaesthesia

Despite its everyday use in hospitals, scientists have yet to fully understand how general anaesthesia works. Professor Bruno van Swinderen began studying general anaesthesia using the tiny worm C.elegans in the 1990s. Now in his lab at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Bruno and Dr Drew Cylinder are studying general anaesthesia reversal agents, which could shorten patients’ recovery time and potentially reduce the risk of post-operative complications.In this thought-provoking discussion, Bruno and Drew explore:How party drugs led to general anaesthetics The difference between local, regional, and general anaesthetics General anaesthesia’s effect on the brainImproving anaesthesia and the role of reversal agentsSleep, consciousness and anaesthesiaRelated resourcesCorals and fruit flies aid understanding of anaesthesia