Prefrontal Neurophysiological Changes Associated with Subanesthetic Esketamine Accelerating Mice Emergence from Propofol Anesthesia.
Brain research bulletin November 22, 2025 Yinying Sun, Bo Li, Yiting Wang et al.
A low dose of esketamine (2 mg/kg) significantly accelerated awakening from propofol anesthesia in adult C57BL/6J mice. In the prefrontal cortex, esketamine hastened the emergence of γ oscillations and triggered earlier activation of neuronal somata and dendrites in layer V, while delaying activation in layer II/III neurons. It also induced inter-layer phase desynchronization and a premature increase in acetylcholine and 5-hydroxytryptamine levels. The findings suggest that low-dose esketamine facilitates awakening by orchestrating a sequence of neural events in the prefrontal cortex, providing mechanistic insight into paradoxical emergence from anesthesia.