Isoflurane induces transient impairment of retention of spatial working memory in rats

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) occurs in nearly one-third of patients after non-cardiac surgery. Many animal behavior studies have investigated the effect of general anesthesia on cognitive function. However, there have been no studies examining the effects on working memory specifically, with a focus on the retention of working memory. We demonstrate here that isoflurane anesthesia induces deficits in the retention of spatial working memory in rats, as revealed by an increase in isoflurane- induced across-phase errors in the delayed spatial win-shift (SWSh) task with a 30-min delay in an 8-arm radial arm maze on post-anesthesia days (PADs) 1,2,4, and 10. A post-hoc analysis revealed a significant increase in across-phase errors on PAD 1 and recovery on PAD 10 in the isoflurane group. In contrast, within-phase errors independent of the retention of working memory were unaffected by isoflurane. These results demonstrate that isoflurane anesthesia transiently impairs the retention of spatial working memory in rats.