Sevoflurane-induced down-regulation of hippocampal oxytocin and arginine vasopressin impairs juvenile social behavioral abilities

J Mol Neurosci. 2015 May;56(1):70-7. doi: 10.1007/s12031-014-0468-3. Epub 2014 Nov 25.

Abstract

Cumulative evidence indicates that early childhood anesthesia can alter a child's future behavioral performance. Animal researchers have found that sevoflurane, the most commonly used anesthetic for children, can produce damage in the neonatal brains of rodents. To further investigate this phenomenon, we focused on the influence of sevoflurane anesthesia on the development of juvenile social behavioral abilities and the pro-social proteins oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the neonatal hippocampus. A single 6-h sevoflurane exposure for postnatal day 5 mice resulted in decreased OT and AVP messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels in the hippocampus. OT and AVP proteins became sparsely distributed in the dorsal hippocampus after the exposure to sevoflurane. Compared with the air-treated group, mice in the sevoflurane-treated group showed signs of impairment in social recognition memory formation and social discrimination ability. Sevoflurane anesthesia reduces OT and AVP activities in the neonatal hippocampus and impairs social recognition memory formation and social discrimination ability in juvenile mice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anesthetics, Inhalation / adverse effects*
  • Anesthetics, Inhalation / pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Arginine Vasopressin / genetics
  • Arginine Vasopressin / metabolism*
  • Discrimination, Psychological
  • Hippocampus / drug effects*
  • Hippocampus / growth & development
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Hippocampus / physiology
  • Male
  • Memory
  • Methyl Ethers / adverse effects*
  • Methyl Ethers / pharmacology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Oxytocin / genetics
  • Oxytocin / metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Sevoflurane
  • Social Behavior*

Substances

  • Anesthetics, Inhalation
  • Methyl Ethers
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Arginine Vasopressin
  • Sevoflurane
  • Oxytocin