A Sleep‐Specific Midbrain Target for Sevoflurane Anesthesia

Abstract Sevoflurane has been the most widely used inhaled anesthetics with a favorable recovery profile; however, the precise mechanisms underlying its anesthetic action are still not completely understood. Here the authors show that sevoflurane activates a cluster of urocortin 1 (UCN1 + )/cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript (CART + ) neurons in the midbrain involved in its anesthesia. Furthermore, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) is highly enriched in sevoflurane‐activated UCN1 + /CART + cells and is necessary for sleep induction. Blockade of GHSR abolishes the excitatory effect of sevoflurane on UCN1 + /CART + neurons and attenuates its anesthetic effect. Collectively, their data suggest that anesthetic action of sevoflurane necessitates the GHSR activation in midbrain UCN1 + /CART + neurons, which provides a novel target including the nucleus and receptor in the field of anesthesia.