Anesthesia Mechanism Brain Mystery

General anesthesia does not mimic normal sleep, and EEG readings show that even the deepest sleep never reaches the same brain state as the lightest anesthesia. Instead, the patterns more closely resemble a comatose brain, which is why some researchers describe it as a “reversible coma.” Anesthesiologists know how to dose it, monitor patients, and manage its effects during surgery. Yet despite decades of use, scientists still do not fully understand the precise molecular mechanism behind how many anesthetic drugs shut down consciousness.

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