Validation of Hyperbaric Pressure System with Xenon Anesthesia for Drosophila melanogaster

Under hyperbaric conditions, the elevated concentrations of the ambient gases may elicit a range of behavioral responses in various animals. A substantial portion of these behaviors represents changes in cognitive states that are yet poorly understood. One notable example is general anesthesia. The behavioral effect of several gases under hyperbaric conditions in general anesthesia, or narcosis, has been a long-lasting scientific inquiry, despite the overwhelmingly frequent use of the drugs in medicine. Xenon, classified as a noble gas and an anesthetic agent, is regarded as one of the safest options for general anesthesia in humans. However, it does not anesthetize flies under normobaric conditions. Here, we established a simple experimental setup that increases the ambient pressure up to ~3 atm and allows the study of xenon anesthesia in one of the most popular model organisms, Drosophila melanogaster. This experimental setup further facilitates the study of other gases and their effect under hyperbaric conditions.