Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Vasomotion, vascular oscillations at ~ 0.1 Hz, may serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases, but its origins, structure across brain vasculature, and correlation with neural activity remain unclear. This study examined the spatiotemporal characteristics of cerebral vasomotion and its relationship to neural activity in anaesthetised Hooded Lister rats using simultaneous recordings of neuronal activity and haemodynamics in motor and whisker barrel cortices. In a subset of rats, tissue oxygen was also measured. Blood pressure was pharmacologically modulated to alter vascular oscillations. We found that vasomotion was driven by the arterial tree. Two prominent activity patterns emerged: fast vasomotion across the entire hemisphere and slow vasomotion seen as a travelling wave running through the surface arteries. Moreover, vasomotion was associated with low tissue oxygen and was largely independent of spontaneous neural activity and therefore not a product of neurovascular coupling.
Source: Scientific Reports
Institutions: University of Sheffield, University of Nottingham
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Funder: Medical Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W4417465133