Changes in the Functional Population Response of the Cat Primary Visual Cortex after Short-Term Injections of Propofol on the Background of Continuous Propofol Infusion

Abstract

The effects of systemic administration of the anesthetic propofol on the amplitude of the optical signal recorded from the neuron population of the primary visual cortex of the cat were studied. The study included development of an anesthesia protocol allowing maintenance of the required depth of anesthesia without introducing artefacts into the experimental data. Optical access to the cerebral cortex was gained at the beginning of the experiment. The effects of propofol on the functional responses of the neuron population were evaluated in the experiments by optical mapping using intrinsic signals. The study addressed the stability of the population response of the brain during the whole experiment and after single doses of propofol. The results showed that prolonged administration of propofol at a constant rate had no effect on the amplitude of the optical signal recorded from the cortical surface. On this background, single concentrated doses induced transient suppression of signal amplitude. Practical recommendations are provided for long-lasting acute neurophysiological experiments using propofol anesthesia.