Children's cognitive recovery after day-case general anesthesia: a randomized trial of propofol or isoflurane for dental procedures.

Background: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is well established in adults but has been underinvestigated in children. As day-case procedures are increasingly common, it is important to establish whether children suffer significant POCD. Pediatric POCD has been associated with several intravenous and inhalation anesthetics, but isoflurane has not been studied.

Identification of a population of sleep-active cerebral cortex neurons.

The presence of large-amplitude, slow waves in the EEG is a primary characteristic that distinguishes cerebral activity during sleep from that which occurs during wakefulness. Although sleep-active neurons have been identified in other brain areas, neurons that are specifically activated during slow-wave sleep have not previously been described in the cerebral cortex. We have identified a population of cells in the cortex that is activated during sleep in three mammalian species.