Research
General anesthesia has transformed modern medicine and improved patient care, but the question remains: how does general anesthesia work?
The Anesthetic Circuitry of the Midbrain
How are cells in the midbrain involved in anesthetic-induced unconsciousness and recovery of consciousness? We tackle this question using a combination of electric, chemogenetic, and optogenetic techniques to activate various neuronal populations in anesthetized rodents.
Understanding these mechanisms will lead to new methods for inducing rapid recovery from general anesthesia and aid the development of new anesthetics with fewer side effects.
Clinical Studies of Reanimation and Recovery from General Anesthesia
Emergence from general anesthesia provides a unique window into the process of recovery from a comatose state to a conscious state, and our work will provide fundamental insights into how human cognition is restored after general anesthesia. Understanding the neural mechanisms that drive this process will lead us to new treatments for clinical problems with no available therapy, such as postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction, and disorders of consciousness and cognition due to brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.
Rodent Studies of Anesthetic Action
As part of the Integrated Systems Neuroscience Studies of Anesthesia project, we will conduct rodent studies in conjunction with human, non-human primate, and mathematical modeling studies to decipher the neurophysiological mechanisms of the four most commonly used anesthetic drugs: propofol, sevoflurane, dexmedetomidine, and ketamine.