Research - Anesthesiology

Faculty members from the Department of Anesthesiology conduct basic, translational and clinical neuroscience research. Basic and translational research projects investigate the mechanisms of pain, analgesia, anesthesia and cognition/awareness. The experimental approaches include animal models of pain, high-resolution optical measurements of transients in cell calcium and reactive oxygen species, development of new optical instruments for non-invasive tracking of spinal cord blood flow, high field magnetic resonance microscopy (1HMRS, metabolomics) and molecular studies of ion channels. These projects test hypotheses about the addiction to drugs of abuse, intra-operative spinal cord ischemia, metabolic effects of anesthetics, new cellular targets for local anesthetics, inflammation and the transition from acute to chronic pain, anesthetic toxicity in the developing brain and the role of neurotransmitter receptors in anesthesia. Clinical neuroscience research in the department is driven by optimizing patient safety, anesthesia care and pain management. One group is investigating minimally invasive approaches to relieve low back pain. Another is examining the effects of stroke and hypoxia on cognition in the aged using MRI techniques. Others employ the new and powerful tool of metabolomics in which 1HMRS is used to detect drug-induced changes in brain metabolism. One such study focuses on the controversial subject of anesthetic toxicity in pediatric patients. Another study examines the cerebral effects of lung cancer.

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