Gilles Plourde, MSc., MD

My aim is to understand how general anesthetics cause unconsciousness. Although general anesthetics have been in use for more than 150 years, their mechanisms of action are not well understood. My approach thus far has been to conduct electrophysiological (EEG or sensory evoked potentials) or functional brain imaging (PET or fMRI) studies in human volunteers who undergo general anesthesia. An important element of this research is the use of drug administration methods that allow precise control of the concentration of the drug in arterial blood. Our lab also employs the use of animal models to compliment human neurophysiological studies by allowing more elaborate investigations.