by Maisie Allison
A group of scientists is trying to explain it:
The next big set of questions will be about what brain regions and networks of circuits are involved in producing anesthesia,” [says] Columbia’s [Neil] Harrison. “The ‘how’ of anesthesia may be partially solved, but certainly not the ‘where,’ ” he says. What’s most remarkable about that is the fundamental mystery that it exemplifies…All of biology, from plants to tadpoles to people, can be reversibly immobilized with just about the same concentration range of drug, [Penn chemist Ivan J. Dmochowski] explains. “It’s almost a defining characteristic of life that we can be anesthetized,” he says. Because of these similarities, anesthetic target discovery might someday point researchers to the proteins and processes behind consciousness itself. “It’s bigger than anesthesia,” he says. “It’s one of the last frontiers in pharmacological research.”
Hat tip: Boing Boing.
The Dish 