Abstract #0801

Investigate the Mechanisms of Anesthetic-Induced Unconsciousness in a Mouse Model by High-Resolution Manganese Enhanced MRI (MEMRI) Technique: A Preliminary Study

Ping Wang¹, Jason Moore¹, Thomas Floyd^1,2, Max Kelz¹

¹Anesthesiology & Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; ²Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Manganese is a useful contrast agent for MRI of animals, resulting in enhancement on T1-weighted MRI images. Two emerging hypothalamic targets with proven ability to affect arousal state are the median preoptic nucleus, MnPO, and ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, VLPO. Depolarization of these two regions is respectively thought to underlie onset and maintenance of natural sleep. Our hypothesis is that volatile anesthetics cause unconsciousness (behavioral hypnosis) by affecting VLPO and MnPO function. In this preliminary study, we verified the hypothesis by high-resolution MEMRI (manganese enhanced MRI) technique.