Affiliation:
1. Department of Anesthesiology, Renji Hospital School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
2. Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Ministry of Education Shanghai China
3. Department of Radiology The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University Chongqing China
4. Department of Radiology, Renji Hospital School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundReversible loss of consciousness is the primary therapeutic endpoint of general anesthesia; however, the drug‐invariant mechanisms underlying anesthetic‐induced unconsciousness are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the static, dynamic, topological and organizational changes in functional brain network induced by five clinically‐used general anesthetics in the rat brain.MethodMale Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 57) were randomly allocated to received propofol, isoflurane, ketamine, dexmedetomidine, or combined isoflurane plus dexmedetomidine anesthesia. Resting‐state functional magnetic resonance images were acquired under general anesthesia and analyzed for changes in dynamic functional brain networks compared to the awake state.ResultsDifferent general anesthetics induced distinct patterns of functional connectivity inhibition within brain‐wide networks, resulting in multi‐level network reorganization primarily by impairing the functional connectivity of cortico‐subcortical networks as well as by reducing information transmission capacity, intrinsic connectivity, and network architecture stability of subcortical regions. Conversely, functional connectivity and topological properties were preserved within cortico‐cortical networks, albeit with fewer dynamic fluctuations under general anesthesia.ConclusionsOur findings highlighted the effects of different general anesthetics on functional brain network reorganization, which might shed light on the drug‐invariant mechanism of anesthetic‐induced unconsciousness.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China