Fig. 1.

Illustration of the experimental timeline. Young mice (n = 28) were exposed to 3% sevoflurane or control for 2 h over 3 days at postnatal day (P) 15, P16, and P17. Each group (n = 4) of young mice was subjected to PET for measurement of cerebral glucose metabolism 24 h before the first exposure to sevoflurane on P14 and 24 h after the third exposure on P18. We harvested brain tissue (hippocampus and temporal lobe) 24 h after the last exposure to sevoflurane on P18 for WB (n = 4), RT-PCR (n = 4), and IF and TUNEL (n = 4) studies. Both groups of mice (n = 12) were used for an assessment of emotional reactivity using the OFT on P19 and an assessment of learning and memory function using the NOR from P20 to P21 and the MWM P23 to P28