Isoflurane anesthesia suppresses gastric myoelectric power in the ferret

• Published in: Neurogastroenterology and motility Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. e14749 - n/a
• Main Authors: Tomaselli, Lorenzo, Sciullo, Michael, Fulton, Stephanie, Yates, Bill J., Fisher, Lee E., Ventura, Valérie, Horn, Charles C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2024
• Subjects: Anesthesia; Animals; Electrodes; electrogastrography; ferret; Ferrets; gastric myoelectrical activity; General anesthesia; Isoflurane; Isoflurane - pharmacology; Myoelectric Complex, Migrating; Stomach; electrogastrography; ferret; gastric myoelectrical activity
• ISSN: 1350-1925; 1365-2982
• DOI: 10.1111/nmo.14749

Background Gastric myoelectric signals have been the focus of extensive research; although it is unclear how general anesthesia affects these signals, and studies have often been conducted under general anesthesia. Here, we explore this issue directly by recording gastric myoelectric signals during awake and anesthetized states in the ferret and explore the contribution of behavioral movement to observed changes in signal power. Methods Ferrets were surgically implanted with electrodes to record gastric myoelectric activity from the serosal surface of the stomach, and, following recovery, were tested in awake and isoflurane‐anesthetized conditions. Video recordings were also analyzed during awake experiments to compare myoelectric activity during behavioral movement and rest. Key Results A significant decrease in gastric myoelectric signal power was detected under isoflurane anesthesia compared to the awake condition. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the awake recordings indicates that behavioral movement is associated with increased signal power compared to rest. Conclusions & Inferences These results suggest that both general anesthesia and behavioral movement can affect the signal power of gastric myoelectric recordings. In summary, caution should be taken in studying myoelectric data collected under anesthesia. Further, behavioral movement could have an important modulatory role on these signals, affecting their interpretation in clinical settings. We find a significant decrease in gastric myoelectric activity for ferrets under isoflurane anesthesia as compared to awake behaving ferrets. We also show that, for awake behaving ferrets, there is increased myoelectric power during movement compared to during rest. These results demonstrate the importance of considering behavioral state and anesthesia when interpreting gastric myoelectric data.