Isoflurane anesthesia suppresses gastric myoelectric power in the ferret.

Background: Gastric myoelectric signals have been the focus of extensive research; although it is unclear how general anesthesia affects these signals, and studies have often been conducted under general anesthesia. Here, we explore this issue directly by recording gastric myoelectric signals during awake and anesthetized states in the ferret and explore the contribution of behavioral movement to observed changes in signal power.

Methods: Ferrets were surgically implanted with electrodes to record gastric myoelectric activity from the serosal surface of the stomach, and, following recovery, were tested in awake and isoflurane-anesthetized conditions.

Anesthesia suppresses gastric myoelectric power in the ferret.

Background: Gastrointestinal myoelectric signals have been the focus of extensive research; although it is unclear how general anesthesia affects these signals, studies have often been conducted under general anesthesia. Here, we explore this issue directly by recording gastric myoelectric signals during awake and anesthetized states in the ferret and also explore the contribution of behavioral movement to observed changes in signal power.

Methods: Ferrets were surgically implanted with electrodes to record gastric myoelectric activity from the serosal surface of the stomach, and, following recovery, were tested in awake and isoflurane-anesthetized conditions.

Selective stimulation of the ferret abdominal vagus nerve with multi-contact nerve cuff electrodes.

Dysfunction and diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are a major driver of medical care. The vagus nerve innervates and controls multiple organs of the GI tract and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) could provide a means for affecting GI function and treating disease. However, the vagus nerve also innervates many other organs throughout the body, and off-target effects of VNS could cause major side effects such as changes in blood pressure.

Hydrogel-based electrodes for selective cervical vagus nerve stimulation.

Electrical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has the potential to treat a wide variety of diseases by modulating afferent and efferent communication to the heart, lungs, esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Although distal vagal nerve branches, close to end organs, could provide a selective therapeutic approach, these locations are often surgically inaccessible. In contrast, the cervical vagus nerve has been targeted for decades using surgically implantable helix electrodes to treat epileptic seizures and depression; however, to date, clinical implementation of VNS has relied on an electrode with contacts that fully wrap around the nerve, producing non-selective activation of the entire nerve.

Estimation of body surface area in the musk shrew ( Suncus murinus): a small animal for testing chemotherapy-induced emesis.

Several cancer chemotherapies cause nausea and vomiting, which can be dose-limiting. Musk shrews are used as preclinical models for chemotherapy-induced emesis and for antiemetic effectiveness. Unlike rats and mice, shrews possess a vomiting reflex and demonstrate an emetic profile similar to humans, including acute and delayed phases.

Role of the abdominal vagus and hindbrain in inhalational anesthesia-induced vomiting.

The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) can be as high as 80% in patients with risk factors (e.g., females, history of motion sickness).