How the brain wakes up after anesthesia
Anesthesia and Consciousness
This project is looking at how thinking, attention, and memory come back after general anesthesia to help people recover more reliably after surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11237144 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will study how different anesthetic drugs affect the order and speed that mental functions return after anesthesia, focusing on attention, memory, and arousal. They will use animal models to map brain circuits that drive waking and compare male and female recovery patterns, including effects of the female reproductive cycle. The researchers will test whether activating specific arousal, attention, and memory circuits can speed or improve cognitive recovery from anesthesia. Findings will guide new strategies to prevent or treat problems like emergence delirium and delayed awakening after surgery.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Patients who undergo general anesthesia for surgery, particularly those who have had emergence delirium or slow recovery of thinking in the past, would benefit most from the findings and future trials.
Not a fit: People who never receive general anesthesia or who have only local or regional anesthesia are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to new treatments or interventions that help patients wake up with clearer thinking and less confusion after general anesthesia.
How similar studies have performed: Prior animal studies have shown subcortical arousal centers influence waking, but applying circuit activation to improve cognitive recovery after anesthesia is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Solt, Ken — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Solt, Ken
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.