ArticleBritish journal of anaesthesia2023
Repeated early-life exposure to anaesthesia and surgery causes subsequent anxiety-like behaviour and gut microbiota dysbiosis in juvenile rats.
Article in British journal of anaesthesia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut‑brain axis in anesthesia and critical illness: Molecular crosstalk and its impact on delirium and outcome (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Interactions Between Perioperative Anesthesia Management and Gut Microbiota: Current Research Advances.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Gut microbiota and their influence in brain cancer milieu.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- The role of intestinal homeostasis in sevoflurane-induced myelin development and cognitive impairment in neonatal mice.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Review
- The Potential Impact of the Gut Microbiota on Neonatal Brain Development and Adverse Health Outcomes.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Gut Microbiota-Metabolite-Brain Axis Reconstitution Reverses Sevoflurane-Induced Social and Synaptic Deficits in Neonatal Mice.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Article
- The involvement of the gut microbiota in postoperative cognitive dysfunction based on integrated metagenomic and metabolomics analysis.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Impact of Repeated Infantile Exposure to Surgery and Anesthesia on Gut Microbiota and Anxiety Behaviors at Age 6-9.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEarly exposure to general anaesthetics for multiple surgeries or procedures might negatively affect brain development. Recent studies indicate the importance of microbiota in the development of stress-related behaviours. We determined whether repeated anaesthesia and surgery in early life cause gut microbiota dysbiosis and anxiety-like behaviours in rats.
methodsSprague Dawley rats received skin incisions under sevoflurane 2.3 vol% three times during the first week of life. After 4 weeks, gut microbiota, anxiety-related behaviours, hippocampal serotonergic activity, and plasma stress hormones were tested. Subsequently, we explored the effect of faecal microbiota transplantation from multiple anaesthesia/surgery exposed rats after administration of a cocktail of antibiotics on anxiety-related behaviours.
resultsAnxiety-like behaviours were observed in rats with repeated anaesthesia/surgery exposures: In the OF test, multiple anaesthesia/surgery exposures induced a decrease in the time spent in the centre compared to the Control group (P<0.05, t=3.05, df=16, Cohen's d=1.44, effect size=0.58). In the EPM test, rats in Multiple AS group travelled less (P<0.05, t=5.09, df=16, Cohen's d=2.40, effective size=0.77) and spent less time (P<0.05, t=3.58, df=16, Cohen's d=1.69, effect size=0.65) in the open arms when compared to the Control group. Repeated exposure caused severe gut microbiota dysbiosis, with exaggerated stress response (P<0.01, t=4.048, df=16, Cohen's d=-1.91, effect size=-0.69), a significant increase in the hippocampal concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) (P<0.05; for 5-HT: t=3.33, df=18, Cohen's d=-1.49, effect size=-0.60; for 5-HIAA: t=3.12, df=18, Cohen's d=-1.40, effect size=-0.57), and changes in gene expression of serotonergic receptors later in life (for Htr1a: P<0.001, t=4.49, df=16, Cohen's d=2.24, effect size=0.75; for Htr2c: P<0.01, t=3.72, df=16, Cohen's d=1.86, effect size=0.68; for Htr6: P<0.001, t=7.76, df=16, Cohen's d=3.88, effect size=0.89). Faecal microbiota transplantation led to similar anxiety-like behaviours and changes in the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid.
conclusionsGut microbiota dysbiosis caused by early repeated exposure to anaesthesia and surgery affects long-term anxiety emotion behaviours in rats.
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