Measuring Consciousness: Shedding New Light on Anesthesia in the Melonakos Lab

Though anesthesia has been used in medicine for nearly two centuries, no one truly knows how it works. Its correct use and importance to medicine are well understood, yet the neuroscience behind anesthesia-induced unconsciousness remains a mystery. Through his lab, Dr. Eric Melonakos hopes to uncover more about how anesthesia operates within the brain, studying neural activity in the prefrontal cortex and other regions to better understand how neuron transmission is disrupted on the circuit level.

Photo by Megan Mulliner

“We're looking at a number of different anesthetics that have different molecular targets, and we're comparing their activity between each other to see how they might be different,” Dr. Melonakos says. “The idea is that down the road, this could be used clinically for monitoring too high or too low of doses.”

Dr. Melonakos’ research combines elements of molecular biology, engineering, and neuroscience, recording changes caused by anesthesia within rats’ brains. The lab also has a secondary focus: studying the science of sleep and consciousness, as the neural pathways activated by anesthetics often overlap with sleep. Dr. Melonakos anticipates that this wide-encompassing research will lead to many valuable findings, including medicines that simulate regular sleep, creating more regenerative rest for those who require aid at night.

Photo by Megan Mulliner

Many undergraduate students have been helping set up the lab this past year, including Hayden Grossarth (CELL ‘27). Grossarth has built many of the custom tools the lab will use to perform experiments, learning PYTHON and other valuable skills along the way. “Dr. Melonakos has really expanded my vision of what science is,” Grossarth explains. “It’s a lot of trying to figure things out and seeing what sticks.” By helping set up the lab, Grossarth is working through trial and error, learning to ask better questions, and ultimately experimenting with ways to become a better scientist.

Photo by Megan Mulliner

Neil Loosli (MMBIO ‘26) is another undergraduate student who helped set up the new lab, experimenting with the process of learning long before any anesthesia was administered. “Everyone is actually actively contributing. That’s the point, to just do it,” he adds. By helping to set up the lab, he gained unexpected and unique insights into what it means to set up a long-term research project.

Mia Mendoza (CELL ‘28) is thrilled to assist with Dr. Melonakos’ experiments as an undergraduate student. “I’m interested in plastic surgery as a career, and to have surgical skills right now is kind of insane,” Mendoza says. “It’s unheard of for undergrads to be doing research in general, but especially surgeries.” With the lab requiring only a few hours each week, Mendoza eagerly recommends other undergraduate students seek out BYU labs like Dr. Melonakos’, to elevate their college education through practical experience.

In his research, Dr. Melonakos encourages students to look for both physical and spiritual answers, especially when it relates to consciousness, anesthesia, and human souls. “Just because something is spiritual doesn’t mean there’s not a physical cause as well,” Dr. Melonakos says. “I can maintain my faith, which is the most dear thing to me in my life, while also having a curiosity about how things work.” His lab begins each meeting with prayer to establish an attitude of reverence for God and respect for the complex bodies each of us possess.

To learn more about the Melonakos Lab’s upcoming projects, click here. Applications to work at the lab can be found here.