responsible for a patient losing consciousness is not yet clear. and most likely also depends on the ennis that accused. there are anesthetics that do not act on the messenger but on the other neurotransmitters. to make it researchers are investigating these differences with a micro e.g. that measures signal transmission in the mini brains neurons. so far all anesthetic drugs have been found by trial and error doctors know that they work but not exactly how they work. however understanding the how is an important prerequisite for reducing side effects. we should really be looking at patients individual needs and attributes and choosing the substances they get accordingly we need a rational approach and not just a trial and error approach to see if it works and if it does that s good enough.