International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience
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Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. · Oct 2014
Effect of combining anesthetics in neonates on long-term cognitive function.
With growing evidence that anesthesia exposure in infancy affects cognitive development, it is important to understand how distinct anesthetic agents and combinations can alter long-term memory. Investigations of neuronal death suggest that combining anesthetic agents increases the extent of neuronal injury. However, it is unclear how the use of simultaneously combined anesthetics affects cognitive outcome relative to the use of a single agent. ⋯ A combined sevoflurane and nitrous oxide anesthetic led to a distinct behavioral outcome compared with sevoflurane alone, suggesting that the simultaneous use of multiple agents may uniquely influence early neural and cognitive development and potentially impacts associative memory.