Study of neurovascular coupling by using mesoscopic and microscopic imaging

Abstract

Summary Neuronal activation is often accompanied by the regulation of cerebral hemodynamics via a process known as neurovascular coupling (NVC) which is essential for proper brain function and has been observed to be disrupted in a variety of neuropathologies. A comprehensive understanding of NVC requires imaging capabilities with high spatiotemporal resolution and a field-of-view that spans different orders of magnitude. Here, we present an approach for concurrent multi-contrast mesoscopic and two-photon microscopic imaging of neurovascular dynamics in the cortices of live mice. We investigated the spatiotemporal correlation between sensory-evoked neuronal and vascular responses in the auditory cortices of living mice using four imaging modalities. Our findings unravel drastic differences in the NVC at the regional and microvascular levels and the distinctive effects of different brain states on NVC. We further investigated the brain-state-dependent changes of NVC in large cortical networks and revealed that anesthesia and sedation caused spatiotemporal disruption of NVC.

Revisiting the cerebral hemodynamics of awake, freely moving rats with repeated ketamine self-administration using a miniature photoacoustic imaging system

“… 39 – 41 These differences can also be attributed to the various anesthesia methods because anesthetic agents have distinct effects on neurovascular coupling and neuronal response patterns 42 – 44 Thus, the validity of the stimuli used in in vivo studies must be carefully considered.…”

“…[39][40][41] These differences can also be attributed to the various anesthesia methods because anesthetic agents have distinct effects on neurovascular coupling and neuronal response patterns. [42][43][44] Thus, the validity of the stimuli used in in vivo studies must be carefully considered. A combination of stimulation parameters that can elicit robust responses under anesthesia may not necessarily be relevant in the awake state.…”

Neurovascular coupling dysfunction associated with cognitive impairment in presbycusis

“…To quantify regional NVC (that is, blood flow or metabolic energy per unit of neuronal activity), we calculated the CBF/ALFF, CBF/fALFF, CBF/ReHo and CBF/DC ratios in a voxel-wise manner for each subject. 31 A two-sample t -test was used and corrected for age, sex and education level to identify significant differences in brain regions between the two groups. Moreover, the mean ratio of each significant cluster was extracted for the subsequent correlation analyses.…”

Intrinsic, widefield optical imaging of hemodynamics in rodent models of Alzheimer’s disease and neurological injury

“…We discuss three stimulation paradigms used to assess NVC in rodents (1) hindpaw and forepaw stimulation, (2) whisker stimulation, and (3) visual stimulation. Although auditory stimulation 109 has been performed to assess NVC, we do not discuss it in this review.…”