How does xenon produce anaesthesia?

The molecular mechanism associated with the clinical activity of the anaesthetic gas xenon have remained poorly understood since its discovery. Most general anaesthetics heighten the activity of inhibitory GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid type-A), but a new study shows that xenon has little effect on GABA, instead inhibiting the excitory NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor channels, which may partially explain some important features of its pharmacology, particularly its lack of undesirable side effects.