Repeated exposure to propofol impairs spatial learning, inhibits LTP and reduces CaMKIIα in young rats

Propofol is one of the most widely used intravenous anesthetics. We investigated the effects of propofol injected during development on synaptic plasticity and long-term spatial learning and memory in young rats. Propofol (75 mg/kg) was administered to 7-day-old rats either as a single dose or in 7 doses at 24-h intervals. At postnatal day 28, spatial learning in the Morris water maze and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of the hippocampus were significantly reduced in the rats that had received 7 doses of propofol. This treatment also significantly decreased the expression of CaMKIIα and pCaMKIIα in the hippocampus, and reduced the pCaMKIIα/CaMKIIα ratio, as measured by immunochemistry and Western blotting. We conclude that repeated exposure to propofol impairs learning and memory in the developing rat brain, and this finding may be associated with down-regulation of CaMKIIα and pCaMKIIα.