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Optogenetic Activation of Afferent Pathways in Brain Slices and Modulation of Responses by Volatile Anesthetics
Published on: July 23, 2020
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Anesthetics disrupt brain development via actions on the mTOR pathway
Jing Xu1,2, Eunchai Kang3, C David Mintz2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Communicative & Integrative Biology
|August 8, 2018
Summary
General anesthesia exposure may harm brain development, causing lasting cognitive deficits. Targeting the mTOR signaling pathway could prevent these anesthesia-induced neurotoxic effects in developing brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- General anesthesia exposure during critical developmental periods is a growing concern for potential long-term cognitive deficits.
- The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is crucial for normal brain development and implicated in cognitive disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of mTOR signaling in anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity.
- To explore the potential of normalizing mTOR signaling to prevent adverse effects of anesthesia on brain development.
Main Methods:
- Experiments in non-human primates.
- Analysis of mTOR signaling pathway alterations in the hippocampus.
- Assessment of structural and functional brain perturbations.
Main Results:
- Anesthetics were found to chronically alter mTOR signaling in the hippocampal dentate gyrus.
- Normalization of mTOR signaling successfully prevented anesthesia-induced structural and functional deficits.
Conclusions:
- The mTOR signaling pathway is a key mediator of developmental anesthetic neurotoxicity.
- Targeting mTOR signaling represents a potential therapeutic strategy to mitigate the harmful effects of anesthesia on brain development.
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