Anesthesia before age one can harm memory

A study says general anesthesia before the age of one may impair memory later in childhood and even throughout a person’s life. Scientists who compared the recollection skills of two groups of children found that those who were anesthetized as babies had about 28% less recollection on average than their peers. Recollection plays a role in autobiographical memory, classroom learning and reading comprehension. The team said this may reduce the child’s potential to learn over time, but added the more research is needed to determine how long the impairment will last. Other studies have shown that anesthesia can kill brain cells and affect the working of synapses, but its impact on human memory has been unclear. It is also not known whether anesthesia might have a similar brain effect when given to older children or adults.

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