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Published on: June 11, 2017
Infant isoflurane exposure affects social behaviours, but does not impair specific cognitive domains in juvenile
Viola Neudecker1, Jose F Perez-Zoghbi1, Kristine Coleman2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Insights
Repeated infant anesthesia exposure in non-human primates (NHPs) altered social behavior, while single exposures increased anxiety and behavioral inhibition. Cognitive functions remained unaffected in this study on early-life anesthesia effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Anesthesiology
Background:
- Clinical studies indicate early-life anesthesia exposure in children leads to normal intelligence but altered social behaviors.
- Infant anesthesia in non-human primates (NHPs) causes neurobehavioral impairments, including delayed motor skills and increased anxiety.
- The impact of anesthesia on spontaneous social behaviors in juvenile NHPs remains under-investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of single versus multiple isoflurane anesthesia exposures on spontaneous social behaviors in infant NHPs.
- To determine if anesthesia exposure impacts cognitive domains and behavioral inhibition in juvenile NHPs.
- To correlate findings with observed behavioral alterations in human pediatric anesthesia studies.
Main Methods:
- Eight Rhesus macaques per group were exposed to room air (control) or anesthetized with isoflurane for 5 hours once (1×) or thrice (3×) between postnatal days 6-12.
- Cognitive testing, home environment behavioral assessments, and provoked response testing were conducted over the first two years of life.
Main Results:
- Cognitive functions did not significantly differ across groups.
- NHPs exposed thrice (3×) exhibited reduced close social behavior (P=0.016).
- Single exposure (1×) resulted in increased anxiety-related behaviors (P=0.038) and heightened inhibition towards novel objects (P<0.001).
Conclusions:
- Five-hour isoflurane exposures in infant NHPs are linked to decreased social behavior after multiple exposures.
- Single exposures are associated with increased anxiety and behavioral inhibition, without affecting tested cognitive domains.
- Findings align with clinical observations of social behavior changes in children exposed to early-life anesthesia, guiding future research.
Background:
Clinical studies show that children exposed to anaesthetics for short times at young age perform normally on intelligence tests, but display altered social behaviours. In non-human primates (NHPs), infant anaesthesia exposure for several hours causes neurobehavioural impairments, including delayed motor reflex development and increased anxiety-related behaviours assessed by provoked response testing. However, the effects of anaesthesia on spontaneous social behaviours in juvenile NHPs have not been investigated. We hypothesised that multiple, but not single, 5 h isoflurane exposures in infant NHPs are associated with impairments in specific cognitive domains and altered social behaviours at juvenile age.
Methods:
Eight Rhesus macaques per group were anaesthetised for 5 h using isoflurane one (1×) or three (3×) times between postnatal days 6 and 12 or were exposed to room air (control). Cognitive testing, behavioural assessments in the home environment, and provoked response testing were performed during the first 2 yr of life.
Results:
The cognitive functions tested did not differ amongst groups. However, compared to controls, NHPs in the 3× group showed less close social behaviour (P=0.016), and NHPs in the 1× group displayed increased anxiety-related behaviours (P=0.038) and were more inhibited towards novel objects (P<0.001).
Conclusions:
5 h exposures of NHPs to isoflurane during infancy are associated with decreased close social behaviour after multiple exposures and more anxiety-related behaviours and increased behavioural inhibition after single exposure, but they do not affect the cognitive domains tested. Our findings are consistent with behavioural alterations in social settings reported in clinical studies, which may guide future research.
