Local cerebral glucose consumption in the rat. I. Effects of halothane anesthesia

Rates of cerebral glucose utilization were measured by means of the autoradiographic 2-deoxy-D-(1-14C)glucose technique in normal rats under light halothane-anesthesia. Three types of region-specific metabolic alterations were elicited by inhalation of 0.5% halothane. The most striking effect observed was a significant increase of glucose consumption within the locus coeruleus, substantia nigra compacta and reticulata, interpeduncular nucleus, hippocampus, and fornix of the anesthetized animals in comparison to the corresponding brain areas of the conscious control rats. Halothane-anesthesia was also associated with significant metabolic depression in 21 (out of the 74 examined) discrete regions of the rat brain, distributed within the pons, cerebellum, diencephalon, and cortex, and was more prevalent in thalamus and neocortex. However, halothane failed to alter consistently the rates of glucose utilization in the rest of the rat brain areas investigated. The present findings suggest that halothane specifically alters the regional cerebral glucose utilization, with some limbic system components and the basal ganglia displaying increased metabolism, in contrast to the sensorimotor system which demonstrates significantly decreased metabolic activity.