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New insights into the molecular mechanisms of general anaesthetics
Author(s) -
Chau PL
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2010.00891.x
Subject(s) - mechanism (biology) , mechanism of action , receptor , action (physics) , neuroscience , general anaesthetic , cognitive science , chemistry , medicine , bioinformatics , computational biology , psychology , biology , epistemology , anesthesia , biochemistry , general anaesthesia , philosophy , physics , in vitro , quantum mechanics
This paper provides new insights of how general anaesthetic research should be carried out in the future by an analysis of what we know, what we do not know and what we would like to know. I describe previous hypotheses on the mechanism of action of general anaesthetics (GAs) involving membranes and protein receptors. I provide the reasons why the GABA type A receptor, the NMDA receptor and the glycine receptor are strong candidates for the sites of action of GAs. I follow with a review on attempts to provide a mechanism of action, and how future research should be conducted with the help of physical and chemical methods.