Long-term consequences of repeated pentobarbital anaesthesia on choice reaction time performance in ageing rats

Recent studies have suggested that anaesthesia may be a factor in cognitive decline with age. We examined the effect of repeated (eight times) anaesth esia with pentobarbital on reaction time performance in rats in a longitudi nal study. Treated rats had faster response times and made more premature r esponses than the control rats when they were older than 21 months. The res ults suggest that repeated anaesthesia during the lifespan can lead to an i ncrease in impulsivity, as assessed by a choice reaction time test, during the later stages of life in the rat. These findings support the theory that repeated anaesthesia is a biological factor that affects cognitive ageing.