Neural Correlates of Behavioural Changes During Propofol General Anaesthesia in Caenorhabditis Elegans

<p>Drew Cylinder, Neural Correlates of Behavioural Changes During Propofol General Anaesthesia in Caenorhabditis Elegans</p> <p>Winner – University of Queensland VYT local competition (2022)  </p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>Transcript:</strong></p> <p><br></p> <p>If you’ve ever been under general anaesthesia during surgery, it probably felt a little bit like going to sleep but sleep and general anaesthesia are very different. For example, if you were asleep and I stabbed you with a knife, you would probably wake up! Not so if you were under general anaesthesia. </p> <p>Now we use general anaesthetics all the time, but we don’t really know how they work. I study how the communication between brain cells called neurons gets disrupted during general anaesthesia. This would be too hard to study in a human brain. It’s much too complicated. So instead, I use a microscopic worm called <em>C. elegans</em>. Worm neurons work in a similar way to humans, but their nervous system is much simpler. </p> <p>One experiment involves worms that have been genetically modified to have neurons that fluoresce when active. This allows me to see how patterns of neuronal activity change during general anaesthesia. </p> <p>Understanding the mechanism underlying general anaesthesia could someday lead to better general anaesthetics with fewer side effects and better patient outcomes.  </p> <p><br></p>