Stimulating a major dopamine-producing region in the brain — the ventral tegmental area — caused rats to wake from general anesthesia, suggesting that this region plays a key role in restoring consciousness after general anesthesia, according to a study that will be published in the August issue of Anesthesiology.
In the study, the rats were given the general anesthetics isoflurane or propofol. Once unconscious, researchers performed targeted electrical stimulation on the two major regions of the rats brains that contain dopamine-releasing cells — the VTA and the substantia nigra, which controls movement.
Researchers found that electrical stimulation of the VTA caused the rats to regain consciousness. This suggests that dopamine released from cells in this area of the brain is likely involved in arousal. The VTA is also the area of the brain that controls cognition, motivation and reward in humans.
"Because dopamine-releasing cells in the VTA are important for cognition, we may be able to use drugs that act on this region not only to induce consciousness in anesthetized patients, but to potentially treat common postoperative emergence-related problems such as delirium and restore cognitive function," said Ken Solt, M.D., lead author and physician at Massachusetts General Hospital's department of anesthesia, critical care and pain medicine and assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.
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In the study, the rats were given the general anesthetics isoflurane or propofol. Once unconscious, researchers performed targeted electrical stimulation on the two major regions of the rats brains that contain dopamine-releasing cells — the VTA and the substantia nigra, which controls movement.
Researchers found that electrical stimulation of the VTA caused the rats to regain consciousness. This suggests that dopamine released from cells in this area of the brain is likely involved in arousal. The VTA is also the area of the brain that controls cognition, motivation and reward in humans.
"Because dopamine-releasing cells in the VTA are important for cognition, we may be able to use drugs that act on this region not only to induce consciousness in anesthetized patients, but to potentially treat common postoperative emergence-related problems such as delirium and restore cognitive function," said Ken Solt, M.D., lead author and physician at Massachusetts General Hospital's department of anesthesia, critical care and pain medicine and assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.
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