anaesthesia may harm memory
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Recollection plays role in autobiographical

Anaesthesia may harm memory

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Anaesthesia may harm memory

Anaesthesiologist before a surgery
London - Arab Today

General anaesthesia before the age of one may impair memory later in childhood, possibly life-long, a study said Monday.
This was the conclusion of scientists who compared the recollection skills of two groups of children -- some who had undergone anaesthesia in infancy and others who had not.
The children, aged six to 11 and divided into two groups of 28 each, were tested over a period of 10 months for their ability to recollect specific drawings and details therein.
The children who had been anaesthetised as babies had about 28 percent less recollection on average than their peers, and scored 20 percent lower in tests that assessed how much detail they could remember about the drawings.
"The children did not differ in tests measuring intelligence or behaviour, but those who had received anaesthesia had significantly lower recollection scores," said a media summary provided by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, which published the results.
Recollection plays a role in autobiographical memory, classroom learning and reading comprehension.
"Thus, even subtle recollection deficits may have immediate consequences and reduce the child's potential to learn over time, which future studies should examine more closely," wrote the University of California team.
They found no difference between children who had been anaesthetised only once and those put under several times.
The team observed no discernable effect of anaesthesia on familiarity -- a second function of memory which evokes a sense of an experience as opposed to recollection, which deals with the details.
In a parallel study, the same researchers showed that 33 rats put under general anaesthesia during their first week of life also suffered long-term deficits in recollecting odours, compared to never-anaesthetised rats.
None of the rats had suffered any injury, which the scientists took to prove it was the anaesthesia that affected memory and not any condition which had necessitated the anaesthesia for surgery, the scientists said.
As children cannot be anaesthetised for no reason, the team could not conclusively rule out the reason for the surgery as the cause of the memory impairment. But they said their observations in rats are likely to hold true in humans.
- Deficit may be 'life-long' -
Other studies have shown that anaesthesia can kill brain cells and affect the working of synapses, but its impact on human memory has been unclear.
Further research is needed to determine how long the impairment will last, but study co-author Greg Stratmann said rat studies "suggest that the deficit is life-long".
"We've never seen the deficit go away in rats. In fact, we have seen it get worse over time," he told AFP by email.
It is also not known whether anaesthesia might have a similar brain effect when given to older children or adults.
Stratmann cautioned against drawing far-reaching conclusions from this single study.
"However, these findings should get you thinking about whether an anaesthetic that may previously have been considered harmless is really necessary.
"I am talking about imaging procedures and other non-surgical procedures that may currently be done under anaesthesia for the sake of convenience. It is possible that some anaesthetics in young children can be avoided. This should be done whenever possible."
Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

anaesthesia may harm memory anaesthesia may harm memory

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

anaesthesia may harm memory anaesthesia may harm memory

 



GMT 05:50 2017 Tuesday ,15 August

20 killed in Takhar funeral attack

GMT 04:51 2017 Thursday ,13 April

Huda Kattan among top 10 beauty influencers

GMT 09:44 2018 Saturday ,06 January

Aoun to deliver speech in Rome this afternoon

GMT 09:14 2017 Saturday ,30 December

London stocks end year on record high

GMT 11:47 2017 Monday ,11 December

France's rightwing shifts after Macron victory

GMT 04:49 2013 Monday ,27 May

Feng Shui living room concepts

GMT 19:45 2017 Wednesday ,18 January

The UAE Releases Global State of the Future Report

GMT 23:40 2017 Wednesday ,18 October

OIC condemns terrorist attack in Jeddah

GMT 16:41 2017 Saturday ,18 February

FBMA International Show Jumping Cup 2017 competition

GMT 17:43 2017 Tuesday ,14 February

Spanish activists taken to court over BDS activism
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday