The effect of caffeine on cerebral metabolism during alpha-chloralose anesthesia differs from isoflurane anesthesia in the rat brain

Rationale Caffeine is a widely studied psychostimulant, even though its exact effect on brain activity remains to be elucidated. Positron emission tomography (PET) allows studying mechanisms underlying cerebral metabolic responses to caffeine in caffeine-naïve rats. Rodent studies are typically performed under anesthesia. However, the anesthesia may affect neurotransmitter systems targeted by tested drugs. Objectives The scope of the present study was to address the impairing or enhancing effect of two common anesthetics, alpha-chloralose and isoflurane, on the kinetics of caffeine. Methods The first group of rats ( n = 15) were anesthetized under 1.5% isoflurane anesthesia. The second group of rats ( n = 15) were anesthetized under alpha-chloralose (80 mg/kg). These rats received an intravenous injection of saline ( n = 5) or of 2.5 mg/kg ( n = 5) or 40 mg/kg ( n = 5) caffeine for both groups. Results With 2.5 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg caffeine, whole-brain cerebral metabolism was significantly reduced by 17.2% and 17% (both P < 0.01), respectively, under alpha-chloralose anesthesia. However, the lower dose of caffeine (2.5 mg/kg) had a limited effect on brain metabolism, whereas its higher dose (40 mg/kg) produced enhancements in brain metabolism in the striatum, hippocampus, and thalamus (all P < 0.05) under isoflurane anesthesia. Conclusion These findings demonstrate significant differences in brain responses to caffeine on the basic of the anesthesia regimen used, which highlights the importance of attention to the anesthetic used when interpreting findings from animal pharmacological studies because of possible interactions between the anesthetic and the drug under study.