A Molecular Theory of General Anesthesia

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Abstract
The hydrate-microcrystal theory of anesthesia by non-hydrogen-bonding agents differs from most earlier theories in that it involves primarily the interaction of the molecules of the anesthetic agent with water molecules in the brain, rather than with molecules of lipids. The postulated formation of hydrate microcrystals similar in structure to known hydrate crystals of chloroform, xenon, and other anesthetic agents as well as of the substances related to protein side chains, entrapping ions and electrically charged side chains of protein molecules in such a way as to decrease the energy of electric oscillations in the brain, provides a rational explanation of the effect of the anesthetic agents in causing loss of consciousness. The striking correlation between the narcotizing partial pressure of the anesthetic agents and the partial pressure necessary to cause formation of hydrate crystals provides some support for the proposed theory, but it is recognized that any theory based upon the van der Waals attraction of the molecules of the anesthetic agent for other molecules would show a similar correlation, inasmuch as the energy of inter molecular attraction is approximately proportional to the polarizability (mole refraction) of the molecules of the anesthetic agent. The proposed theory is sufficiently detailed to permit many predictions to be made about the effect of anesthetic agents in changing the properties of brain tissue and other substances, and it should be possible to carry out experiments that will disprove the theory or provide substantiation for it.