General anesthesia hijacks sleep circuitry to knock you out
Thursday, April 18, 2019 - 13:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Researchers have found that general anesthesia induces unconsciousness by hijacking the neural circuitry that makes us fall sleep. They traced this neural circuitry back to a cluster of cells at the base of the brain responsible for churning out hormones to regulate bodily functions, mood, and sleep. The finding could lead to better drugs capable of putting people to sleep with fewer side effects.