Volatile anesthetics have been in use since the 19th century, but their mechanisms of action and primary targets remain to be discovered. In a recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers took a pivotal step forward in understanding the synaptic mechanisms of isoflurane, a general anesthetic agent.
The researchers, led by Tomoyuki Takahashi, MD, MS, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Research Institute of Environmental Medicine of Nagoya University