Data_Sheet_1_General Anesthesia Does Not Have Persistent Effects on Attention in Rodents.docx

Background: Studies in animals have shown that general anesthesia can cause persistent spatial memory impairment, but the influence of anesthetics on other cognitive functions is unclear. This study tested whether exposure to general anesthesia without surgery caused a persistent deficit in attention in rodents.
Methods: To evaluate whether anesthesia has persistent effects on attention, rats were randomized to three groups. Group A was exposed for 2 h to isoflurane anesthesia, and tested the following seven days for attentional deficits. Group B was used as a control and received room air before attentional testing. Since there is some evidence that a subanesthetic dose of ketamine can improve cognition and reduce disorders of attention after surgery, rats in group C were exposed to isoflurane anesthesia in combination with a ketamine injection before cognitive assessment. Attention was measured in rats using the 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task, for which animals were trained to respond with a nose poke on a touchscreen to a brief, unpredictable visual stimulus in one of five possible grid locations to receive a food reward. Attention was analyzed as % accuracy, % omission, and premature responses.
Results: Evaluating acute attention by comparing baseline values with data from the day after intervention did not reveal any differences in attentional measurements. No significant differences were seen in % accuracy, % omission, and premature responses for the three groups tested for 7 consecutive days.
Conclusion: These data in healthy rodents suggest that general anesthesia without surgery has no persistent effect on attention and the addition of ketamine does not alter the outcome.

背景：已有动物研究表明，全身麻醉（general anesthesia）可引发持续性空间记忆损伤，但麻醉药物对其他认知功能的影响尚不明确。本研究旨在探究无手术操作的全身麻醉暴露是否会导致啮齿类动物出现持续性注意力缺陷。
方法：为评估麻醉是否会对注意力产生持续性影响，将大鼠随机分为3组。A组暴露于异氟烷（isoflurane）麻醉环境2小时，于干预后连续7天开展注意力缺陷检测。B组作为对照组，在注意力检测前仅暴露于室内空气。鉴于已有研究显示亚麻醉剂量氯胺酮（ketamine）可改善术后认知功能并缓解注意力障碍，C组大鼠在认知评估前接受异氟烷麻醉联合氯胺酮注射。采用五选择连续反应时任务（5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task）检测大鼠注意力：先训练动物通过鼻触触摸屏，对5个网格位置中某一个短暂出现的不可预测视觉刺激作出反应，以获取食物奖赏。以准确率百分比、遗漏率百分比及过早反应率作为注意力分析指标。
结果：将基线值与干预后次日的急性注意力检测数据进行对比，未发现注意力相关指标存在显著差异。在连续7天的检测中，3组大鼠的准确率百分比、遗漏率百分比及过早反应率均无显著组间差异。
结论：针对健康啮齿类动物的本研究数据表明，无手术操作的全身麻醉不会对注意力产生持续性影响，联合使用氯胺酮也不会改变该实验结果。