Memory loss is common after general anesthesia, particularly for events occurring immediately before surgery—a phenomenon called retrograde amnesia. But a new study publishing on April 1st 2021 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, led by Simon Wiegert at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, shows that changes in the hippocampus—the part of the brain used to make new memories—differ depending on which general anesthetic is used. Consequently, their effects on memory formation also differ.