Effects of propofol and sevoflurane on social and anxiety-related behaviours in sleep-deprived rats.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Sleep disorders can profoundly affect neurological function. We investigated changes in social and anxiety-related brain functional connectivity induced by sleep deprivation, and the potential therapeutic effects of the general anaesthetics propofol and sevoflurane in rats.

METHODS:

Twelve-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sleep deprivation for 20 h per day (from 14:00 to 10:00 the next day) for 4 consecutive weeks. They were free from sleep deprivation for the remaining 4 h during which they received propofol (40 mg kg-1 i.p.) or sevoflurane (2% for 2 h) per day or no treatment. These cohorts were instrumented for EEG/EMG recordings on days 2, 14, and 28. Different cohorts were used for open field and three-chambered social behavioural tests, functional MRI, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and positron emission tomography imaging 48 h after 4 weeks of sleep deprivation.

RESULTS:

Propofol protected against sleep deprivation-induced anxiety behaviours with more time (44.7 [8.9] s vs 24.2 [4.1] s for the sleep-deprivation controls; P<0.001) spent in the central area of the open field test and improved social preference index by 30% (all P<0.01). Compared with the sleep-deprived rats, propofol treatment enhanced overall functional connectivity by 74% (P<0.05) and overall glucose metabolism by 30% (P<0.01), and improved glutamate kinetics by 20% (P<0.05). In contrast, these effects were not found after sevoflurane treatment.

CONCLUSIONS:

Unlike sevoflurane, propofol reduced sleep deprivation-induced social and anxiety-related behaviours. Propofol might be superior to sevoflurane for patients with sleep disorders who receive anaesthesia, which should be studied in clinical studies.

• Authors: Jinpiao Zhu, Chang Chen, Jinfeng Wu, Mengying He, Shuang Li, Yuanyuan Fang, Yan Zhou, Haibo Xu, Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad, Anne Manyande, Feng Zheng, Ting Chen, Fuqiang Xu, Daqing Ma, Jie Wang, Zongze Zhang
• Journal: British journal of anaesthesia (Br J Anaesth) Vol. 131 Issue 3 Pg. 531-541 (09 2023) ISSN: 1471-6771 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37543435 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anesthetics, Inhalation
• Anesthetics, Intravenous
• Methyl Ethers
• Propofol
• Sevoflurane

Topics

• Animals
• Male
• Rats
• Anesthetics, Inhalation (pharmacology)
• Anesthetics, Intravenous (pharmacology)
• Anxiety
• Methyl Ethers (pharmacology)
• Propofol (pharmacology)
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Sevoflurane (pharmacology)
• Sleep
• Sleep Deprivation
• Social Behavior