Pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam influences pups' locomotor behavior during emergence from anesthesia in rats.

Abstract

Pre-anesthetic mother-infant interaction is an important factor for smooth emergence of pediatric anesthesia. In many mammalian species, disruptions of the mother-infant relationship cause psychological and behavioral changes. This study was to investigate whether or not pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam has an impact on locomotor behavior of rat pups. We used a video-tracking system to test the effects of pre-anesthetic relations between pups and their dams on pups' locomotor behavior during emergence from general anesthesia, in 40 3-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats. Pups were divided into two groups: pups housed with a dam (n = 20) and those housed with an injured dam (n = 20). Pups were anesthetized with 1.2% halothane for 30 min. At emergence, we recorded their locomotor behavior for 15 min. Pre-anesthetic manipulation to dams significantly increased the distance traveled by pups. However, the manipulation did not cause any difference in the maximum velocity. Pre-anesthetic presence of an injured dam influenced pups' locomotor behavior at emergence from anesthesia.