General anesthesia hijacks sleep circuitry to knock you out

(Duke University) In a study published online April 18 in Neuron, researchers 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.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news