Anesthesia is used whenever a patient undergoes surgery, regardless of the size of the procedure. Anesthesia methods are divided into general anesthesia and local anesthesia, which are chosen by anesthesiologists according to the patient’s surgery and other circumstances. Before anesthesia and surgery, patients and their families always have questions because they are unfamiliar with anesthesia, and one of the most troubling questions for families is “Does general anesthesia affect the patient’s intelligence?” These and other questions always confuse doctors. It is true that the concerns of patients or their families are due to their unfamiliarity with anesthesia, which is understandable. General anesthesia, in short, means that the patient sleeps during the operation, with no consciousness and no pain sensation, because the anesthetic drug suppresses the central nervous system, and the degree of suppression depends on the concentration of the anesthetic drug in the patient’s blood, which is also able to be regulated and controlled. Because this reliance on the suppression of the nervous system by anesthetic drugs is reversible, there is absolutely no need to worry about the impact on the patient’s intelligence when it is properly managed by a professional anesthesiologist. So how exactly do anesthetic drugs make the body lose consciousness? It is widely believed that there is a region in the brain that is capable of maintaining sleep, wakefulness, and awakening: the brainstem reticular formation. When anesthetic drugs are applied to this area, the signaling in this area is inhibited, blocking the pathway of sensory information to the brain, and the role of sensory information in maintaining wakefulness disappears or is reduced. In addition, anesthetic drugs can also cause muscle relaxation in the body because they block the information coming to the motor cortical neurons, causing the motor neurons to not function properly. It must be clear that the effect of anesthetic drugs on the brain is completely reversible, and after the drug residues in the body are metabolized or discharged, consciousness and perception can be slowly restored, so there is nothing to worry about. The slow response of patients for a short period of time after anesthesia surgery is related to the metabolism of anesthetic drugs in the body, and not the result of the effect on intelligence as we think. After entering the body, anesthetic drugs are transported to the brain through the blood circulation, thus having an effect on the brain, and in the process of flowing to the brain they also pass through other organs and tissues, such as muscle tissue and fat. Once the surgery is over no further anesthetic drugs are given, and they are subsequently excreted through metabolism by the liver and kidneys, the time for complete metabolism or excretion varies from person to person. At this time, the anesthetic drugs stored in muscle or fat tissues are slowly released into the bloodstream, so patients who are already awake at the end of surgery continue to be observed for half an hour to an hour. It is because of the amount of anesthetic drugs remaining in the patient’s blood that they appear to be less responsive and their facial expressions are numb, but they will return to normal after the residual anesthetic drugs are completely metabolized or excreted. The development of human intelligence is affected by many factors, the most important of which is genetic inheritance. In addition, the development of intelligence is also influenced by environmental and educational factors, and the development process is also long. In general, the development of intelligence is a long process under the influence of a combination of factors, so it is not scientific to say that a single general anesthesia will have an effect on a person’s intelligence. Although it is said that general anesthesia does not affect a person’s intelligence, if an accident occurs during general anesthesia or surgery, it can have serious consequences. Therefore, it is very important for a hospital to have a professional anesthesia department, and it is also required that the anesthesiologist must have excellent professional skills and knowledge, be dedicated to the patient, understand the patient’s physical and psychological condition before performing anesthesia, and inform the patient of the matters that need attention and the possible risks that may occur. Of course, the main thing is to convince the patient that anesthesia is safe and the anesthetic drugs used are safe, efficient and controllable, and will not cause damage to human intelligence, and to calm the patient’s mental emotions as much as possible, to guide the patient to release psychological pressure, and finally to complete the anesthetic surgery successfully with the joint efforts of the patient and the medical staff.