Different behavioral effects of neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions placed under either isoflurane or propofol anesthesia.
Anesthetic protocols for behavioral neuroscience experiments are evolving as new anesthetics are developed and surgical procedures are refined to improve animal welfare. We tested whether neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions produced under two different anesthetic protocols would have different behavioral and/or histo-pathological effects. Rats were anesthetized with either propofol, an intravenous anesthetic, or isoflurane, a gaseous anesthetic, and multiple injections of an excitotoxin (N-methyl-D-aspartate) were stereotaxically placed in the dorsal hippocampus bilaterally. Intraoperative physiological parameters were similar in the two surgical groups, as were the volumes of the lesions, although the profile of postoperative impairment in a spatial learning task differed between the lesion groups depending on the anesthetic regimen used. These results show that the choice of anesthetic protocol is a critical variable in designing behavioral neuroscience experiments using neurosurgical procedures. This factor should be considered carefully in experimental design and in cross-study comparisons of lesion effects on behavior.
Baxter
Mark G
MG
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Murphy
Kathy L
KL
Crosby
Gregory
G
Culley
Deborah J
DJ
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000494:pharmacology; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003714:Denervation / Q000379:methods; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000633:toxicity; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D015742:Propofol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D009498:Neurotoxins; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D007530:Isoflurane; D015742:Propofol