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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers
Published on: January 13, 2018
Cyclic alteration in the anticonvulsant effect of nitrous oxide in rats
1Department of Anesthesia, and Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.
Abstract:
The anticonvulsant action of nitrous oxide and its time course were studied in rats. Bicuculline, a GABA-receptor antagonist, was administered intravenously at a rate of 0.2 mg.kg(-1).min(-1) during exposure to air (n = 60) or 75% nitrous oxide in oxygen (n = 80). The convulsant dose of bicuculline was determined. The rats were divided into subgroups according to the duration of exposure to air or nitrous oxide, from 0 to 120 min at 15 min intervals. Although the convulsant dose of bicuculline was consistent in the air group (1.03 +/- 0.06 mg.kg(-1), mean +/- SEM), it showed two peaks at 30- and 90 min exposures to nitrous oxide. The threshold dose in the nitrous oxide group was significantly higher than in the air group at only 15- and 30 min exposures (1.50 +/- 0.16, 2.15 +/- 0.25 mg.kg(-1), respectively, P < 0.05). We conclude that nitrous oxide has an anticonvulsant action against bicuculline-induced seizure, and that a cyclic nature exists in its action.
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