Dopamine in the ventral tegmental area facilitates emergence from general anesthesia.

Abstract

Taylor et al . (1) showed that optogenetic activation of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) during continuous, steady-state isoflurane-induced general anesthesia produced electrographic arousal, and restored the righting reflex in mice. Systemic administration of the D1 receptor antagonist SCH-23390 before optical stimulation greatly attenuated electrographic and behavioral arousal. Transfection of VTA neurons with a vector carrying channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2) allowed optical activation, and optical stimulation in control mice transfected with a vector lacking ChR2 did not induce arousal.