Halothane depresses action potential conduction in hippocampal axons
Open accessAbstract
General anesthetics are thought to depress the central nervous system (CNS) by acting at synapses; however, only a few studies have compared effects on axonal conduction with effects on synaptic responses using mammalian CNS preparations. The present study used glutamate receptor antagonists (CNQX/APV) or low calcium to block synaptic transmission, allowing Schaffer-collateral axon fiber volleys to be recorded from rat hippocampal brain slices. Since fiber volleys are compound action potentials, they provide a measure of axonal conduction in Schaffer-collateral fibers. Clinical concentrations of the inhalational anesthetic, halothane (1 rat MAC, 1.2 vol.%), produced an 18 +/- 2.3% depression of fiber volley amplitudes (mean +/- S.D.; p < 0.001 ANOVA, n = 10). Depression of action potential conduction accounted for approximately 30% of the overall depression of synaptic transmission produced by halothane at this concentration. Halothane-induced fiber volley depression occurred with little change in conduction velocity, similar to the effect seen with decreased stimulus intensity, but significantly different from the decreased velocity produced by tetrodotoxin (100 nM, p < 0.005). The results indicate that halothane can depress axonal conduction at clinically relevant concentrations and that this depression could contribute to the CNS depression that is associated with anesthesia.
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Clinical concentrations of volatile anesthetics do not markedly impair sodium currents in squid or crayfish giant axons but significantly depress axonal conduction in mammalian small unmyelinated hippocampal fibers.
“Although clinical concentrations of volatile anesthetics do not markedly impair sodium currents in squid or crayfish giant axons, they significantly depress axonal conduction in mammalian, small unmyelinated hippocampal fibers [69].”
From The Biology of General Anesthesia from Paramecium to Primate (2019) · cites this paper as [69]
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- Authors
- Mikulec, A. A., Pittson, S., Amagasu, S. M., Monroe, F. A., & MacIver, M. B.
- Affiliations
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- MacIver, M.Bruce
- Venue
- Brain Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1998-06
- Volume
- 796
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 231-238
- ISSN
- 0006-8993 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998802012
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r29gm049811-05)
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM49811, R01GM054767, GM 54767)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Anesthesia and Sedative Agents
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research
- Keywords
- halothane, axonal conduction, general anesthesia, central nervous system depression, glutamate receptor antagonists, tetrodotoxin, conduction velocity, synaptic transmission, inhalational anesthetics
- MeSH terms
- Action Potentials, Animals, Axons, Halothane, Hippocampus, Male, Nerve Fibers, Neural Conduction, Reaction Time, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Anesthetics, Inhalation, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, Rats, In Vitro Techniques
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