Brain research
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Ketamine, an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is widely used as a general pediatric anesthetic. Recent studies suggest that ketamine enhances neuronal apoptosis in developing rodents and nonhuman primates. The main goal of this study is to determine whether ketamine causes hippocampal neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits in adulthood, and if so, whether the effects of ketamine are associated with protein kinase C-gamma (PKCγ), extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and Bcl-2 expression. ⋯ Ketamine administered to the developing brains of P7 rats at a dose of 75mg/kg caused learning and memory impairments in adulthood. Therefore, these data demonstrate that ketamine at a dose of 75mg/kg in the developing brain results in hippocampal neurodegeneration and persistent learning and memory impairment, which is associated with the PKCγ-ERK signaling pathway. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Brain Integration.