The factors regulating cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes in physiological activation remain the subject of great interest and debate. Recent experimental studies suggest that an increase in cytosolic NADH mediates increased blood flow in the working brain. Lactate injection should elevate NADH levels by increasing the lactate͞ pyruvate ratio, which is in near equilibrium with the NADH͞NAD ؉ ratio. We studied CBF responses to bolus lactate injection at rest and in visual stimulation by using positron-emission tomography in seven healthy volunteers. Bolus lactate injection augmented the CBF response to visual stimulation by 38 -53% in regions of the visual cortex but had no effect on the resting CBF or the wholebrain CBF. These lactate-induced CBF increases correlated with elevations in plasma lactate͞pyruvate ratios and in plasma lactate levels but not with plasma pyruvate levels. Our observations support the hypothesis that an increase in the NADH͞NAD ؉ ratio activates signaling pathways to selectively increase CBF in the physiologically stimulated brain regions.T he nature of the link between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and energy metabolism is of great interest and importance but remains controversial despite decades of research and debate. Although CBF augmentation is still considered to be a hallmark of intensified neural activity, previous assumptions that behaviorally induced increases in local blood flow reflect similar local increases in oxidative metabolism (1) have been contradicted by brain imaging studies with positron-emission tomography (PET) (2, 3) and functional MRI (4). Fox and his colleagues (2, 3) demonstrated that in normal, awake adult humans, stimulation of the visual or somatosensory cortex results in dramatic increases in CBF but minimal increases in oxygen consumption. Increases in glucose utilization are similar to changes in CBF (3, 5). Although it is often assumed that the increase in CBF in neural activation is driven by a need for increased delivery of oxygen or glucose, it has been demonstrated in human subjects that the CBF response to physiological activation is not altered by either stepped hypoglycemia (6) or hypoxia (7). These results suggest that increased CBF during physiological brain activation does not occur to prevent a shortage of these metabolic substrates. Ido et al. (8) recently reported that CBF in activated rat brain is modified by changes in the plasma lactate͞pyruvate ratio: CBF was augmented when lactate͞pyruvate ratios were raised and attenuated when the ratios were lowered. Specifically, immediately after lactate bolus injection, the magnitude of the CBF increase associated with sensory stimulation approximately doubled. Based on the near equilibrium between the ratios of lactate͞pyruvate and cytosolic free NADH͞NAD ϩ (which reflects the local environment redox state) (9), they suggested that cytosolic free NADH is an important trigger or sensor of blood flow. The reoxidation of NADH to NAD ϩ is a step of vital importance for brain cells, especially in the acti...