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Disruption of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Homeostasis in Adolescent Rats after Neonatal Anesthesia

Nadia Lunardi1, Ryan Sica, Navya Atluri

  • 1From the Department of Anesthesiology (N.L., N.A., C.K., Z.Z.) Department of Neurology (H.P.G.), University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia School of Medicine (R.S.) Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Graduate Program (K.A.S.) Department of Pharmacology (M.P.B.), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Anesthesiology
|April 5, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Neonatal anesthesia with midazolam, nitrous oxide, and isoflurane significantly increases rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in adolescent rats. These REM sleep alterations persist for at least three weeks post-anesthesia.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Anesthesiology
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Previous studies indicate short-term REM sleep changes after anesthesia in adult rats.
  • Long-term effects of neonatal anesthesia on REM sleep architecture remain unclear.
  • This study investigates persistent REM sleep alterations following early-life anesthesia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if anesthesia in neonatal rats affects REM sleep during adolescence.
  • To test the hypothesis of persistent REM sleep disturbances after early-life anesthesia.

Main Methods:

  • Neonatal rats (postnatal day 7) received anesthesia (midazolam, nitrous oxide, isoflurane) or control for 2 or 6 hours.
  • EEG and EMG recordings were obtained during adolescence (postnatal days 26-34).
  • Primary outcome was total time spent in REM sleep, analyzed via t-tests and ANOVA.

Main Results:

  • Anesthesia significantly increased REM sleep duration in adolescent rats compared to controls.
  • This increase was observed irrespective of the 2-hour or 6-hour anesthesia duration.
  • Specifically, anesthetized rats showed 174.0 ± 7.2 min (2h) and 151.6 ± 9.9 min (6h) of REM sleep versus 108.6 ± 5.3 min and 108.8 ± 7.1 min in controls (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.002, respectively).

Conclusions:

  • Neonatal exposure to midazolam, nitrous oxide, and isoflurane leads to increased REM sleep in later life.
  • These findings suggest long-lasting effects of early-life anesthesia on sleep regulation.
  • Further research is needed to understand the clinical implications of these persistent changes.
Abstract

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