Sleep Medicine and Anesthesia

Abstract

The neurophysiologic mechanisms governing sleep and wakefulness have been identified during recent years. These mechanisms have provided new insights into mechanisms of different arousal states and the impact of different anesthetic drugs on modulation of key compo- nents of the sleep-wake neuronal circuits. The similarities and differences between sleep and anesthesia states need to be understood in order to examine a patient’s vulner- ability to anesthesia and different anesthetic drugs. These differences are also likely to determine the likelihood of complications in one state compared to the other, such as upper airway collapse, hypoventilation, and other respi- ratory problems.