Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 29, 2026

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers
Published on: January 13, 2018
Neuropsychiatric sequelae of chronic nitrous oxide misuse in middle-aged adults: A case series
Theodore Tsonis1, Nassima Ait-Daoud Tiouririne2, Nathan P Charlton3
1Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
Background And Objectives:
Chronic nitrous oxide (N2O) misuse causes heterogeneous neuropsychiatric toxicity.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed three middle-aged adults with chronic N2O misuse and neuropsychiatric presentations.
Results:
Presentations included cognitive impairment, hallucinations, and variable neurologic dysfunction. Homocysteine was markedly elevated in all patients, while vitamin B12, methylmalonic acid, hematologic indices, and longitudinal outcomes varied.
Discussion And Conclusions:
These cases illustrate heterogeneous biochemical and clinical trajectories, with biochemical abnormalities not consistently corresponding to clinical severity or recovery.
Scientific Significance:
Clinicians should specifically assess N2O exposure in unexplained neuropsychiatric presentations and interpret cobalamin-related biomarkers in clinical context.
Related Concept Videos
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview
Drugs Acting on Autonomic Ganglia: Stimulants
Ganglionic stimulants activate NM nicotinic receptors in autonomic ganglia, falling into two categories: nicotine mimetics [e.g., lobeline, dimethylpiperazine, tetramethylammonium] and muscarinic receptor agonists [e.g., muscarine, methacholine]. The first category's action is rapid and blocked by nicotinic receptor antagonists, while the second category's action is delayed and blocked by atropine-like agents. Nicotine, an alkaloid, affects the heart rate by stimulating sympathetic or...
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
2° Amines to N-Nitrosamines: Reaction with NaNO2
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease IV: Clinical Manifestations