Abstract
Anesthetics have been shown to cause cytotoxicity, cell death, affect neuronal growth and connectivity in animal models; however, their effects on learning and memory remain to be fully defined. Here, we examined the effects of the inhalation anesthetic sevoflurane (SEV)-both in vivo by examining learning and memory in freely behaving animals, and in vitro using cultured neurons to assess its impact on viability, mitochondrial structure, and function. We demonstrate here that neonatal exposure to sub-clinically used concentrations of SEV results in significant, albeit subtle and previously unreported, learning and memory deficits in adult animals. These deficits involve neuronal cell death, as observed in cell culture, and are likely mediated through perturbed mitochondrial structure and function. Parenthetically, both behavioural deficits and cell death were prevented when the animals and cultured neurons were pre-treated with the anesthetic adjuvant Dexmedetomidine (DEX). Taken together, our data provide direct evidence for sevoflurane-induced cytotoxic effects at the neuronal level while perturbing learning and memory at the behavioural level. In addition, our data underscore the importance of adjuvant agents such as DEX that could potentially counter the harmful effects of commonly used anesthetic agents for better clinical outcomes.