Effects of Sevoflurane Inhalation Anesthesia on Offspring Rats' Neuro-behavior and Capability of Learning and Memory during Late Gestation

Objective To investigate the influences on the offspring rats' neuro-behavior,and capability of learning and memory when rats of late stage gestation were exposed in different concentrations of sevoflurane inhalation anesthesia for 6 hours. Methods 15 SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:high concentration of sevoflurane group (H),low concentration of sevoflurane group (L) and control group (C). Pregnant rats in group H and L inhaled 4% and 2% sevofluane for 6 hours respectively when they were in the 18th day of their gestation. Cliff avoidance test during postnatal day 8 to day 14(P8～P14) ,Open field test at postnatal day 21 and day 60 (P21,P60) and Morris water maze test during postnatal day 21 to day 26 (P21～P26 ) for the first period and during postnatal day 60 to day 65 for the second period (P60～P65) were carried out to assess neuro-behaviors and capability of learning and memory in offspring rats. Results The difference of alterations were not significant among three groups about neurological behaviors in Cliff avoidance and Open field tests (P0.05). In Morris water-maze test,P21～P26 rats in groups H and L showed prolonged mean escape latency (P0.01),shortened swimming time in the platform quadrant Ⅲ(P0.01),and reduced number of times of platform crossing(P0.01) compared with group C. P60～P65 rats in group H showed prolonged mean escape latency (P0.01 ),shortened swimming time in the platform quadrant Ⅲ(P0.05),and reduced number of times of platform crossing(P0.05) compared with group C,but there are no differences between L group and C group(P0.05). Conclusion Sevofluane inhalation anesthesia for 6 hours during late gestation of rats can obviously impaire the capability of learning and memory in offspring rats,which would last a long time under the high concentration of sevoflurane anesthesia.