Early exposure to volatile anesthetics impairs long-term associative learning and recognition memory.

Background: Anesthetic exposure early in life affects neural development and long-term cognitive function, but our understanding of the types of memory that are altered is incomplete. Specific cognitive tests in rodents that isolate different memory processes provide a useful approach for gaining insight into this issue.

Methods: Postnatal day 7 (P7) rats were exposed to either desflurane or isoflurane at 1 Minimum Alveolar Concentration for 4 h.

Effect of combining anesthetics in neonates on long-term cognitive function.

Background: With growing evidence that anesthesia exposure in infancy affects cognitive development, it is important to understand how distinct anesthetic agents and combinations can alter long-term memory. Investigations of neuronal death suggest that combining anesthetic agents increases the extent of neuronal injury. However, it is unclear how the use of simultaneously combined anesthetics affects cognitive outcome relative to the use of a single agent.

Effect of general anesthesia in infancy on long-term recognition memory in humans and rats.

Anesthesia in infancy impairs performance in recognition memory tasks in mammalian animals, but it is unknown if this occurs in humans. Successful recognition can be based on stimulus familiarity or recollection of event details. Several brain structures involved in recollection are affected by anesthesia-induced neurodegeneration in animals.

Isoflurane exposure in newborn rats induces long-term cognitive dysfunction in males but not females.

Volatile anesthetics are used widely for achieving a state of unconsciousness, yet these agents are incompletely understood in their mechanisms of action and effects on neural development. There is mounting evidence that children exposed to anesthetic agents sustain lasting effects on learning and memory. The explanation for these behavioral changes remains elusive, although acute neuronal death after anesthesia is commonly believed to be a principal cause.