Pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam influences pups' locomotor behavior during emergence from anesthesia in rats.
BACKGROUND
Pre-anesthetic mother-infant interaction is an important factor for smooth emergence of pediatric anesthesia. In many mammalian species, disruptions of the mother-infant relationship cause psychological and behavioral changes. This study was to investigate whether or not pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam has an impact on locomotor behavior of rat pups.


METHODS
We used a video-tracking system to test the effects of pre-anesthetic relations between pups and their dams on pups' locomotor behavior during emergence from general anesthesia, in 40 3-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats. Pups were divided into two groups: pups housed with a dam (n = 20) and those housed with an injured dam (n = 20). Pups were anesthetized with 1.2% halothane for 30 min. At emergence, we recorded their locomotor behavior for 15 min.


RESULTS
Pre-anesthetic manipulation to dams significantly increased the distance traveled by pups. However, the manipulation did not cause any difference in the maximum velocity.


CONCLUSIONS
Pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam influenced pups' locomotor behavior at emergence from anesthesia.
Arai
Y-C P
YC
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA. arainon@med.kochi-ms.ac.jp
Ueda
W
W
Al-Chaer
E D
ED
D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000523:psychology*; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006221:Halothane / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D002351:Carrageenan; D006221:Halothane