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Isoflurane suppresses early cortical activity.

Guzel Sitdikova1, Andrei Zakharov2, Sona Janackova3

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Anesthesiology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Volatile anesthetics like isoflurane are common in pediatric anesthesia.
  • Their impact on the developing brain, particularly immature brain activity, is not fully understood.
  • Potential neurotoxic effects raise concerns for long-term neurological outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of isoflurane on brain activity in the developing rat.
  • To characterize changes in spontaneous and sensory-evoked cortical activity from birth to adulthood.
  • To explore the developmental trajectory of anesthetic-induced brain states.

Main Methods:

  • Intracortical extracellular field potential and multiple unit recordings were used in rat barrel cortex.
  • Recordings spanned from postnatal day 0 to adulthood.
  • Isoflurane concentrations were varied to assess dose-dependent effects.

Main Results:

  • Isoflurane suppressed cortical activity concentration-dependently in the first postnatal week.
  • Surgical anesthesia levels (1.5-2%) caused complete electroencephalogram suppression and neuronal silencing.
  • Sensory-evoked gamma and spindle-burst oscillations were suppressed, while early sensory potentials persisted.
  • A burst-suppression pattern emerged in the second postnatal week, maturing by the first month.
  • Bursts involved widespread cortical column activation, influenced by horizontal connections and various sensory stimuli.

Conclusions:

  • Isoflurane's effect on cortical activity transitions from suppression to burst-suppression during early development.
  • The emergence of burst activity correlates with the maturation of intracortical connections.
  • Complete cortical suppression in the first postnatal week is hypothesized to contribute to volatile anesthetic-induced neuronal apoptosis in neonatal rats.