Optical reversal of halothane-induced immobility in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Volatile anesthetics (VAs) cause profound neurological effects, including reversible loss of consciousness and immobility. Despite their widespread use, the mechanism of action of VAs remains one of the unsolved puzzles of neuroscience [1, 2]. Genetic studies in Caenorhabditis elegans [3, 4], Drosophila [3, 5], and mice [6-9] indicate that ion channels controlling the neuronal resting membrane potential (RMP) also control anesthetic sensitivity. Leak channels selective for K(+) [10-13] or permeable to Na(+) [14] are critical for establishing RMP. We hypothesized that halothane, a VA, caused immobility by altering the neuronal RMP. In C. elegans, halothane-induced immobility is acutely and completely reversed by channelrhodopsin-2 based depolarization of the RMP when expressed specifically

SUBMITTER: Singaram VK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3245814 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature