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Genetic Dissection of Anesthetic Action

  • Chapter
Neural Mechanisms of Anesthesia

Part of the book series: Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience ((CCNE))

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Abstract

In vitro model systems are inarguably of great utility, but all in vitro systems suffer from an obvious inability to accurately model the behavioral state of general anesthesia. Because general anesthesia is characterized by amnesia and immobility, the only truly accurate system to model such a state is the whole, intact living organism. To date, several different model organisms and numerous genetic approaches have been utilized to gain an understanding of mechanisms of general anesthesia. The model organisms include the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophilia melanogaster, the laboratory mouse, and the laboratory rat. The genetic approaches are quite varied and range from analyzing existing animal lines to creating genetically engineered organisms that harbor precise, predetermined mutations (see Table 1).

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Authors
  1. Gregg E. Homanics
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  2. Leonard L. Firestone
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of California at Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

    Joseph F. Antognini MD

  2. Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California at Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

    Earl Carstens PhD

  3. Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Douglas E. Raines MD

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Homanics, G.E., Firestone, L.L. (2003). Genetic Dissection of Anesthetic Action. In: Antognini, J.F., Carstens, E., Raines, D.E. (eds) Neural Mechanisms of Anesthesia. Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-322-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-322-4_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-294-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-322-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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