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How do Anesthetics Work?

Once in the brain, it’s not clear how anesthetic drugs work. Most anesthetic drugs are hydrophobic, which literally translates to “water fearing.” This means their molecules are more soluble in fat than in water. Anesthetic drugs exhibit a correlation between their potency and how hydrophobic they are. The entry of any drug into a brain cell must be via the outer lining, or membrane, of that cell. Investigators believe anesthetics must move through, or bind to, the fat-soluble aspects of the membranes of brain cells. The drugs likely then bind to proteins within the cell membranes, and cause their anesthetic effect by changing the characteristics of ion channels within the cell membranes.…

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