Isoflurane is a halogenated ether with anesthetic properties.1 While the mechanism of isoflurane anesthesia is not fully understood, mice resistant to isoflurane anesthesia have an 86% decrease in gene expression for the GABAA receptor subunit β1 compared with isoflurane-sensitive mice, indicating that the GABAA receptor may be required for its anesthetic effect. In mice, isoflurane (1.5% for 4 hours) impairs spatial recognition memory in the spontaneous alternation test and Y-maze and increases levels of phosphorylated Jnk1/2 for at least 24 hours.2 Formulations containing isoflurane have been used as anesthetics.

References
1. Wang, X., Song, Z.G., Huang, D.X., et al. A single nucleotide polymorphism in GABAA receptor isoforms is potentially responsible for isoflurane sensitivity in mice. Genet. Mol. Res. 15(2), gmr.15027340 (2016).
2. Jiang, S., Miao, B., and Chen, Y. Prolonged duration of isoflurane anesthesia impairs spatial recognition memory through the activation of JNK1/2 in the hippocampus of mice. Neuroreport. 28(7), 386-390 (2017).