Neuropharmacology
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Volatile anesthetics are used widely for achieving a state of unconsciousness, yet these agents are incompletely understood in their mechanisms of action and effects on neural development. There is mounting evidence that children exposed to anesthetic agents sustain lasting effects on learning and memory. The explanation for these behavioral changes remains elusive, although acute neuronal death after anesthesia is commonly believed to be a principal cause. ⋯ However, only males were impaired in the recognition of objects in different locations and contexts. Males also exhibited deficient social memory while females were intact. The profound behavioral impairment in males relative to females, in spite of comparable cell death, suggests that males are more susceptible to long-term cognitive effects and this outcome may not be exclusively attributed to neuronal death.