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The molecular mechanisms of general anaesthetics have remained largely obscure since their introduction into clinical practice just over 150 years ago. Many theories have tried to explain their mechanisms. The oldest one was the Myer-Overton correlation. They had found a correlation between the potency of an anaesthetic and her lipid solubility. But since 1980, the ligand-gated ion channels theory seems to be currently the best explanation. According to that theory, the ligand-gated ion channels are the best targets at clinical concentration of the general anaesthetics. GABAA receptors are the best candidates because of their ubiquitary distribution in the central nervous system, theirs essentials physiological roles and their sensibility to many agents at clinical concentrations. Other receptors like glutamate, glycine, serotonin-3 or nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are also targets of general anaesthetics. Finally, sodium, potassic and calcium channels are also recognized as important targets of general anaesthetics. The oxygen pathway perturbation hypothesis allows to explain several anaesthetics effects but it doesn’t seem to catch the attention in the researches Les mécanismes moléculaires des anesthésiques généraux sont restés longtemps obscures depuis leur introduction dans la pratique Clinique il y a 150 ans. Plusieurs es ont été proposées pour essayer d’expliquer leurs modes d’action. Une des plus anciennes fut la théorie de Meyer-Overton. Elle établit une corrélation entre la puissance d’un anesthésique et sa liposolubilité. Depuis les années 1980 la théorie des canaux ioniques couplés à des récepteurs semble être la meilleure explication actuellement. Selon cette dernière, les canaux ioniques couplés à des récepteurs sont les cibles privilégiées des agents anesthésiques aux concentrations cliniques. Parmi ces récepteurs, les GABAA sont les meilleurs candidats en raison de leur distribution ubiquitaire au niveau du système nerveux central, de leurs rôles physiologiques essentiels et de leur sensibilité à de nombreux agents aux concentrations cliniques. Il fut également établi que d’autres récepteurs canaux comme les récepteurs du glutamate, de la glycine de la sérotonine-3 ou encore les récepteurs nicotiniques de l’acétylcholine étaient aussi des cibles des agents anesthésiques ainsi que les canaux sodiques, potassiques et calciques. L’hypothèse de la perturbation du trajet de l’oxygène permet d’expliquer plusieurs effets des anesthésiques, mais elle ne semble pas encore vraiment retenir l’attention dans les recherches

Anesthesia, General --- Anesthesia, Inhalation --- Anesthesia, Intravenous --- Ion Channel Gating

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This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Science: general issues --- Neurosciences --- chemoreceptor --- Olfaction --- gustation --- odorant receptor --- sensory neuron --- ion channel --- Signal Transduction

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This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

chemoreceptor --- Olfaction --- gustation --- odorant receptor --- sensory neuron --- ion channel --- Signal Transduction

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The inferior colliculus (IC) is a unique structure in the auditory system, located between the primary auditory nuclei of the brainstem and the thalamus. The existence of the complex neural circuits in the auditory brainstem and midbrain, lacking in other sensory systems, has motivated an outpouring of research on the circuitry and physiological properties of the IC. IC neurons receive ascending inputs from over 20 separate sources in the brainstem as well as a dense collection of descending connections from the cortex. It is richly connected to both the left and right ears through these circuits and a major theme in research on the IC has been its role in binaural interactions. A second theme is the role of descending circuits in modulating responses to sound in the IC. A third theme is understanding the sound processing that occurs at the level of the IC, essentially how the representation of sound in the IC differs from that in the two auditory nerves. The representation of sound in the IC is an intermediate step in the development of the cortical representation as well as in the development of many perceptual features of sounds. These characteristics have been documented for a number of computations, including sound localization, masking properties, robustness of the representation, and responses to temporal and spectral properties of sounds. This Research Topic aims to discuss a wide range of aspects of the structure and function of the IC in a way that will facilitate future research.

Inferior colliculus. --- Brain. --- ion channel models --- inferior colliculus --- sona --- representation of sound --- internal circuitry --- Neural Pathways --- inhibitory circuits

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The inferior colliculus (IC) is a unique structure in the auditory system, located between the primary auditory nuclei of the brainstem and the thalamus. The existence of the complex neural circuits in the auditory brainstem and midbrain, lacking in other sensory systems, has motivated an outpouring of research on the circuitry and physiological properties of the IC. IC neurons receive ascending inputs from over 20 separate sources in the brainstem as well as a dense collection of descending connections from the cortex. It is richly connected to both the left and right ears through these circuits and a major theme in research on the IC has been its role in binaural interactions. A second theme is the role of descending circuits in modulating responses to sound in the IC. A third theme is understanding the sound processing that occurs at the level of the IC, essentially how the representation of sound in the IC differs from that in the two auditory nerves. The representation of sound in the IC is an intermediate step in the development of the cortical representation as well as in the development of many perceptual features of sounds. These characteristics have been documented for a number of computations, including sound localization, masking properties, robustness of the representation, and responses to temporal and spectral properties of sounds. This Research Topic aims to discuss a wide range of aspects of the structure and function of the IC in a way that will facilitate future research.

Inferior colliculus. --- Brain. --- ion channel models --- inferior colliculus --- sona --- representation of sound --- internal circuitry --- Neural Pathways --- inhibitory circuits