Molecular mechanisms of anaesthesia: do they matter?

The study of the critical molecular changes in general anaesthesia is one of the alternative approaches to the central mechanisms. It complements the neurophysiological studies and the work on isolated nerves or subcellular synaptic components. The current concept of molecular actions of anaesthetics is that the agents are present in both the lipid and protein components of the neural membranes. The proteins control the various functions of the membranes and the lipid environments indirectly affect the proteins. Different anaesthetics have different critical sites of action. The basic studies have resulted in a number of clinical applications, including the additivity of potencies and drug interactions.