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Critical Changes in Cortical Neuronal Interactions in Anesthetized and Awake Rats
Anthony G Hudetz1, Jeannette A Vizuete, Siveshigan Pillay
1From the Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (A.G.H., J.A.V., S.P.); and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (J.A.V., K.M.R.).
Anesthesiology
|May 9, 2015
Summary
Neuronal interactions in the brain increase during emergence from desflurane anesthesia. Visual stimuli enhance these interactions, with critical changes occurring during the transition to consciousness.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Anesthesiology
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Neuronal interactions are crucial for brain functions like cognition and consciousness.
- Anesthetics can alter cortical activity, but their effect on stimulus-related neuronal interactions remains unclear.
- Understanding these changes is key to elucidating consciousness under anesthesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how visual stimulus-related cortical neuronal interactions change during stepwise emergence from desflurane anesthesia.
- To quantify neuronal interactions using information theoretical indices.
Main Methods:
- Recorded parallel spike trains from the primary visual cortex of rats using microelectrode arrays.
- Administered varying concentrations of desflurane anesthesia (8%, 6%, 4%, 2%) and wakefulness.
- Delivered transcranial light flashes and calculated integration and interaction complexity from spike patterns.
Main Results:
- Neuronal integration and complexity decreased with increasing desflurane concentration.
- Visual flash stimulation consistently increased integration and complexity across anesthetic levels.
- The most significant increases in integration and complexity occurred before consciousness recovery (righting reflex).
Conclusions:
- Cortical neuronal interactions are augmented during emergence from desflurane anesthesia.
- Visual stimuli enhance neuronal interactions, with complexity changes plateauing as consciousness returns.
- Key shifts in cortical neuronal interactions coincide with the transition to consciousness.
