Impact of Anesthetics on Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmission in Brain

Motivation: Anesthetics are routinely used in surgery, and neurometabolic analysis in different neurological conditions but their impact on brain energy metabolism is not well understood. Goal(s): To evaluate the impact of anesthetics on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain. Approach: Infuse [1,6-13C2]glucose in mice maintained under isoflurane (1.5%) or urethane (1.5 g/kg), and monitor 13C labeling of brain metabolites by 1H-[13C]-NMR spectroscopy. Results: The glutamatergic and GABAergic neurometabolic activity was suppressed in isoflurane as well as in urethane anesthetized mice. The inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission increase or decrease together with the brain activity. Impact: These findings will have implications for the interpretation of function signals in the brain.