BJA/RCoA PhD Studentship
The successful applicant for the BJA / RCoA PhD Studentship was:
Principal Applicant
Professor N Franks
Professor of Biophysics & Anaesthetics, Biophysics Section, Imperial College, London
Title
The functional disruption of thalamocortical connectivity as a mechanism for propofol and dexmedetomidine general anaesthesia.
Amount
£73,110
Abstract
During the last fifteen years, great progress has been made towards understanding how general anaesthetics act at the molecular level. It has become clear that, particularly for the intravenous agents, anaesthetics act at a relatively small number of molecular targets. Because these molecular targets have defined distributions in the brain, it seems possible, if not probable, that some neuronal pathways will be more important than others in the actions of general anaesthetics. We hypothesise that the intravenous drugs propofol (PROP) and dexmedetomidine (DEX) exert their sedative/hypnotic effects by acting on defined sites in the neocortex and claustrum. Moreover, we hypothesise that the ability of DEX to induce a state more resembling natural sleep than PROP is due to its ability to sustain slow (0.3 - 1 Hz) cortical oscillations. We will test these ideas using a combination of in vivo and in vitro electrophysiology and novel, light-activated, anaesthetics.
First Year Progress Report from Prof N Franks (85 KB)
Interim Report from Prof N Franks (11 KB)
Final Report from Prof N Franks_Dr R Baker.pdf (74 KB)
Publication details:
The Journal of Neuroscience, October 1, 2014 34 (40):13326 -13335
Click here to access the article.
Please see the NIAA's position statement on the use of animals in medical research.
