Excitation of Putative Glutamatergic Neurons in the Rat Parabrachial Nucleus Region Reduces Delta Power during Dexmedetomidine but not Ketamine Anesthesia

ConclusionsThese results suggest that the effectiveness of parabrachial nucleus excitation to change the neurophysiologic and behavioral effects of anesthesia depends on the anesthetic ’s molecular target.Editor ’s PerspectiveWhat We Already Know about This TopicThe parabrachial nucleus is an arousal area in the brainstem primarily composed of excitatory glutamatergic neuronsStimulation of the parabrachial nucleus reduces cortical delta oscillation power and promotes arousal during or after administration of anesthetics targeting principally the γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptorThe effects of parabrachial nucleus stimulation on anesthetics with other molecular targets, such as dexmedetomidine or ketamine, are incompletely understoodWhat This Article Tells Us That Is NewChemogenetic excitation of parabrachial excitatory neurons in adult male rats reduced cortical delta power during low-dose dexmedetomidine but not during high-dose dexmedetomidine or ketamine anesthesiaChanges in cortical delta power did not correspond to changes in time to recovery from anesthesiaThese observations suggest that the effectiveness of parabrachial nucleus excitation to change the neurophysiologic and behavioral effects of anesthesia depends on the molecular mechanisms of actions of general anesthetics
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research