The unsolved science of general anaesthesia

Despite its everyday use in hospitals, scientists have yet to fully understand how general anaesthesia works. Professor Bruno van Swinderen began studying general anaesthesia using the tiny worm C.elegans in the 1990s. Now in his lab at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, Bruno and Dr Drew Cylinder are studying general anaesthesia reversal agents, which could shorten patients’ recovery time and potentially reduce the risk of post-operative complications. In this thought-provoking discussion, Bruno and Drew explore: How party drugs led to general anaesthetics The difference between local, regional, and general anaesthetics General anaesthesia’s effect on the brain Improving anaesthesia and the role of reversal agents Sleep, consciousness and anaesthesia Related resources Corals and fruit flies aid understanding of anaesthesia

You can listen to The unsolved science of general anaesthesia online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The unsolved science of general anaesthesia is an episode from A Grey Matter by Queensland Brain Institute.

This episode is 30:07 long.

This episode was published on Jan 27, 2026.

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