Fig. 1.

Prolonged anesthesia caused cognitive dysfunction and anxiety-like behaviors in rats. A The schedule of the first experiment. Rats underwent 5 days of swimming training in the MWM. Then, 3% sevoflurane was exposed to rats for 4 h to induce SIN rats. Probe trials were performed on the first and third days after sevoflurane exposure. On the first day after sevoflurane exposure, we harvested brain tissues. B, C Prolonged anesthesia by sevoflurane caused cognitive dysfunction in rats. It reduced the time and number of entering the platform quadrant of rats.  D, E The before-after with SD chart of the MWM test in the control group. F, G The before-after with SD chart of the MWM test in Sevo group. H, I In OFT, prolonged anesthesia caused anxiety-like behaviors in rats. It decreased the time and number of entering the central region of rats. J, K In EPM, prolonged anesthesia caused anxiety-like behaviors in rats. It decreased the number and time of entering opened arms of rats. Data was shown as Mean ± SD or Median ± interquartile range (IQR), with *P < 0.05 or *P < 0.001; n = 8 per group, Sevo group vs. control group