Abstract
BackgroundWhether the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction is a result of the effects of surgery or anesthesia is under debate. In this study, we investigated the impact of sevoflurane anesthesia on cognitive performance and cellular mechanisms involved in learning and memory.MethodsMale C57Bl6/J mice (4–5 months) were exposed to one minimum alveolar concentration sevoflurane for two hours. After 24 h, cognitive performance of mice was assessed using the modified hole board test. Additionally, we evaluated hippocampal long-term potentiation and expression levels of different receptor subunits by recording excitatory postsynaptic field potentials and using the western blot technique, respectively. Non-anesthetized mice served as controls.ResultsIn anesthetized mice, neither cognitive performance nor long-term potentiation was impaired 24 h after anesthesia. Interestingly, sevoflurane anesthesia induced even an improvement of cognitive performance and an elevation of the expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor type 1 and 2B subunits in the hippocampus.ConclusionsSince NMDA receptor type 1 and 2B subunits play a crucial role in processes related to learning and memory, we hypothesize that sevoflurane-induced changes in NMDA receptor subunit composition might cause hippocampus-dependent cognitive improvement. The data of the present study are in favor of a minor role of anesthesia in mediating postoperative cognitive dysfunction.
Highlights
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a decline in cognitive performance for weeks or months which occurs after surgery
Acquisition of new memory and performance improvement in an alreadylearned spatial memory task was impaired in aged rats up to two weeks after isoflurane/nitrous oxide anesthesia [2,3]
Sevoflurane anesthesia does not affect long-term potentiation (LTP) after 24 h To evaluate the possibility that sevoflurane anesthesia could affect synaptic plasticity, LTP was studied in hippocampal slices of anesthetized and non-anesthetized mice one day after anesthesia or sham treatment
Summary
Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a decline in cognitive performance for weeks or months which occurs after surgery. Animal studies investigating the impact of general anesthesia on memory formation are rather inconsistent, and showed both an impairment or improvement of cognitive function. Acquisition of new memory and performance improvement in an alreadylearned spatial memory task was impaired in aged rats up to two weeks after isoflurane/nitrous oxide anesthesia [2,3]. Adult rats showed an impaired acquisition of new memory only when tested two days, but not two weeks after isoflurane/nitrous oxide anesthesia, when spatial memory performance was even improved [4,5]. We investigated the impact of sevoflurane anesthesia on cognitive performance and cellular mechanisms involved in learning and memory
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