RCT of Three Anesthetics Completed

Graphical representation of a research study involving brain imaging after administering different anesthetic agents to groups of healthy volunteers. The image is divided into sections. On the left, a diagram shows three downward-pointing arrows labeled "Healthy volunteers," "Randomized," and split into three groups: "n=22," "n=25," and "n=25," next to a silhouette of a person. In the center, three line graphs depict blood concentration over time for three drugs: Propofol (yellow line, peaks at 15 minutes), Dexmedetomidine (purple line, peaks at 30 minutes), and Fentanyl (blue line, peaks at 15 minutes). Each graph is accompanied on the right by six axial brain MRI images, with highlighted areas indicating brain activity changes: blue for Propofol, red for Dexmedetomidine, and red and blue for Fentanyl.

The observed clinical effects of different anesthetic and analgesic agents are well-known, but localized brain changes in humans experiencing pain have not previously been demonstrated. This publication reports distinct neural signatures for propofol, dexmedetomidine, and fentanyl. This demonstrates that these commonly-used anesthetic agents have not only distinct receptor pharmacology, but surprisingly different signatures for modulating brain activity in the centers for memory and pain.

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