Propofol anesthesia and molecular changes in the brain

Abstract Propofol is a versatile, short-acting, intravenous sedative-hypnotic agent that rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier resulting in rapid action, short duration of action, and minimal side effects. It is also widely used for the sedation of patients in the intensive care unit and in those undergoing brief ambulatory surgery. Considering wide usage of propofol in all age groups of patients, this chapter summarizes mechanisms underlying its therapeutic action, changes at molecular level suspected to trigger the unwanted functional impairments related to its application during critical periods of mammalian development, and the role of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons in the emergence from propofol anesthesia, overall emphasizing context-dependent influence of propofol anesthesia on neural networks and brain functions.