The effects of althesin on luteinizing hormone release cannot be explained by actions of the GABAA receptor alone

Althesin and pentobarbitone are anaesthetics which act by prolonging the open time of the chloride channels of the GABA(A) receptor. To explain why luteinizing hormone (LH) release is less depressed by Althesin anaesthesia than by pentobarbitone anaesthesia we suggest that either Althesin is a less potent anaesthetic in the preoptic area or that Althesin as well as stimulating GABA(A) receptors has some other action, perhaps stimulation of GABA(B) receptors, which may facilitate LH release. To investigate the relative potency of the anaesthetics in the preoptic area nine cats were anaesthetised, six with Althesin and three with pentobarbitone, mounted in a stereotaxic frame and prepared for extracellular recording and stimulation of spontaneously active units in the preoptic region. When cats anaesthetised with Althesin were compared with cats anaesthetised with pentobarbitone there were significantly fewer of these units for the number of tracks made. These units also had a significantly lower frequency and a distribution significantly skewed toward lower frequencies. Electrical stimulation of the fornix and of sites in the medial basal hypothalamus and medial forebrain bundle inhibited about 50% of the units and the median duration of the inhibitory pause was significantly longer following stimulation at all three sites in cats anaesthetised with Althesin. We conclude that Althesin is a more potent anaesthetic than pentobarbitone in the preoptic region and that its effects on LH release cannot be explained by its effects on the GABA(A) receptor alone.