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DiNuzzo M, Dienel GA, Behar KL, Petroff OA, Benveniste H, Hyder F, Giove F, Michaeli S, Mangia S, Herculano-Houzel S, Rothman DL. Neurovascular coupling is optimized to compensate for the increase in proton production from nonoxidative glycolysis and glycogenolysis during brain activation and maintain homeostasis of pH, pCO 2, and pO 2. J Neurochem 2024; 168:632-662. [PMID: 37150946 PMCID: PMC10628336 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
During transient brain activation cerebral blood flow (CBF) increases substantially more than cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) resulting in blood hyperoxygenation, the basis of BOLD-fMRI contrast. Explanations for the high CBF versus CMRO2 slope, termed neurovascular coupling (NVC) constant, focused on maintenance of tissue oxygenation to support mitochondrial ATP production. However, paradoxically the brain has a 3-fold lower oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) than other organs with high energy requirements, like heart and muscle during exercise. Here, we hypothesize that the NVC constant and the capillary oxygen mass transfer coefficient (which in combination determine OEF) are co-regulated during activation to maintain simultaneous homeostasis of pH and partial pressure of CO2 and O2 (pCO2 and pO2). To test our hypothesis, we developed an arteriovenous flux balance model for calculating blood and brain pH, pCO2, and pO2 as a function of baseline OEF (OEF0), CBF, CMRO2, and proton production by nonoxidative metabolism coupled to ATP hydrolysis. Our model was validated against published brain arteriovenous difference studies and then used to calculate pH, pCO2, and pO2 in activated human cortex from published calibrated fMRI and PET measurements. In agreement with our hypothesis, calculated pH, pCO2, and pO2 remained close to constant independently of CMRO2 in correspondence to experimental measurements of NVC and OEF0. We also found that the optimum values of the NVC constant and OEF0 that ensure simultaneous homeostasis of pH, pCO2, and pO2 were remarkably similar to their experimental values. Thus, the high NVC constant is overall determined by proton removal by CBF due to increases in nonoxidative glycolysis and glycogenolysis. These findings resolve the paradox of the brain's high CBF yet low OEF during activation, and may contribute to explaining the vulnerability of brain function to reductions in blood flow and capillary density with aging and neurovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerald A Dienel
- Department of Neurology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205 USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, 87131 USA
| | - Kevin L Behar
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511 USA
| | - Ognen A Petroff
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511 USA
| | - Helene Benveniste
- Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
| | - Fahmeed Hyder
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
- Department of Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC), Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
| | - Federico Giove
- Centro Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, RM, 00184 Italy
- Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, RM, 00179 Italy
| | - Shalom Michaeli
- Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA
| | - Silvia Mangia
- Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455 USA
| | - Suzana Herculano-Houzel
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Douglas L Rothman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
- Department of Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC), Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520 USA
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Whitlow CT, Atcheson KM, Snively BM, Cook JF, Kim J, Haq IU, Sweadner KJ, Ozelius LJ, Brashear A. Rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism is associated with reduced cerebral blood flow without gray matter changes. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1116723. [PMID: 36779071 PMCID: PMC9909223 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1116723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Previous research showed discrete neuropathological changes associated with rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP) in brains from patients with an ATP1A3 variant, specifically in areas that mediate motor function. The purpose of this study was to determine if magnetic resonance imaging methodologies could identify differences between RDP patients and variant-negative controls in areas of the brain that mediate motor function in order to provide biomarkers for future treatment or prevention trials. Methods Magnetic resonance imaging voxel-based morphometry and arterial spin labeling were used to measure gray matter volume and cerebral blood flow, respectively, in cortical motor areas, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum, in RDP patients with ATP1A3 variants (n = 19; mean age = 37 ± 14 years; 47% female) and variant-negative healthy controls (n = 11; mean age = 34 ± 19 years; 36% female). Results We report age and sex-adjusted between group differences, with decreased cerebral blood flow among patients with ATP1A3 variants compared to variant-negative controls in the thalamus (p = 0.005, Bonferroni alpha level < 0.007 adjusted for regions). There were no statistically significant between-group differences for measures of gray matter volume. Conclusions There is reduced cerebral blood flow within brain regions in patients with ATP1A3 variants within the thalamus. Additionally, the lack of corresponding gray matter volume differences may suggest an underlying functional etiology rather than structural abnormality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T. Whitlow
- Section of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States,Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States,Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States,*Correspondence: Christopher T. Whitlow ✉
| | - Kyle M. Atcheson
- Section of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Beverly M. Snively
- Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States,Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Jared F. Cook
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Jeongchul Kim
- Section of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Ihtsham U. Haq
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Kathleen J. Sweadner
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Laurie J. Ozelius
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Allison Brashear
- Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
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Akbari A, Bollmann S, Ali TS, Barth M. Modelling the depth-dependent VASO and BOLD responses in human primary visual cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:710-726. [PMID: 36189837 PMCID: PMC9842911 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using a blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast is a common method for studying human brain function noninvasively. Gradient-echo (GRE) BOLD is highly sensitive to the blood oxygenation change in blood vessels; however, the spatial signal specificity can be degraded due to signal leakage from activated lower layers to superficial layers in depth-dependent (also called laminar or layer-specific) fMRI. Alternatively, physiological variables such as cerebral blood volume using the VAscular-Space-Occupancy (VASO) contrast have shown higher spatial specificity compared to BOLD. To better understand the physiological mechanisms such as blood volume and oxygenation changes and to interpret the measured depth-dependent responses, models are needed which reflect vascular properties at this scale. For this purpose, we extended and modified the "cortical vascular model" previously developed to predict layer-specific BOLD signal changes in human primary visual cortex to also predict a layer-specific VASO response. To evaluate the model, we compared the predictions with experimental results of simultaneous VASO and BOLD measurements in a group of healthy participants. Fitting the model to our experimental data provided an estimate of CBV change in different vascular compartments upon neural activity. We found that stimulus-evoked CBV change mainly occurs in small arterioles, capillaries, and intracortical arteries and that the contribution from venules and ICVs is smaller. Our results confirm that VASO is less susceptible to large vessel effects compared to BOLD, as blood volume changes in intracortical arteries did not substantially affect the resulting depth-dependent VASO profiles, whereas depth-dependent BOLD profiles showed a bias towards signal contributions from intracortical veins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atena Akbari
- Centre for Advanced ImagingUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Saskia Bollmann
- Centre for Advanced ImagingUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Tonima S. Ali
- Centre for Advanced ImagingUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Markus Barth
- Centre for Advanced ImagingUniversity of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia,ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging TechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia,School of Information Technology and Electrical EngineeringThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
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Herculano-Houzel S, Rothman DL. From a Demand-Based to a Supply-Limited Framework of Brain Metabolism. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:818685. [PMID: 35431822 PMCID: PMC9012138 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.818685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
What defines the rate of energy use by the brain, as well as per neurons of different sizes in different structures and animals, is one fundamental aspect of neuroscience for which much has been theorized, but very little data are available. The prevalent theories and models consider that energy supply from the vascular system to different brain regions is adjusted both dynamically and in the course of development and evolution to meet the demands of neuronal activity. In this perspective, we offer an alternative view: that regional rates of energy use might be mostly constrained by supply, given the properties of the brain capillary network, the highly stable rate of oxygen delivery to the whole brain under physiological conditions, and homeostatic constraints. We present evidence that these constraints, based on capillary density and tissue oxygen homeostasis, are similar between brain regions and mammalian species, suggesting they derive from fundamental biophysical limitations. The same constraints also determine the relationship between regional rates of brain oxygen supply and usage over the full physiological range of brain activity, from deep sleep to intense sensory stimulation, during which the apparent uncoupling of blood flow and oxygen use is still a predicted consequence of supply limitation. By carefully separating "energy cost" into energy supply and energy use, and doing away with the problematic concept of energetic "demands," our new framework should help shine a new light on the neurovascular bases of metabolic support of brain function and brain functional imaging. We speculate that the trade-offs between functional systems and even the limitation to a single attentional spot at a time might be consequences of a strongly supply-limited brain economy. We propose that a deeper understanding of brain energy supply constraints will provide a new evolutionary understanding of constraints on brain function due to energetics; offer new diagnostic insight to disturbances of brain metabolism; lead to clear, testable predictions on the scaling of brain metabolic cost and the evolution of brains of different sizes; and open new lines of investigation into the microvascular bases of progressive cognitive loss in normal aging as well as metabolic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzana Herculano-Houzel
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Douglas L. Rothman
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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Zhang Y, Yin Y, Li H, Gao JH. Measurement of CMRO 2 and its relationship with CBF in hypoxia with an extended calibrated BOLD method. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2020; 40:2066-2080. [PMID: 31665954 PMCID: PMC7786846 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x19885124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) are physiological parameters that not only reflect brain health and disease but also jointly contribute to blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals. Nevertheless, unsolved issues remain concerning the CBF-CMRO2 relationship in the working brain under various oxygen conditions. In particular, the CMRO2 responses to functional tasks in hypoxia are less studied. We extended the calibrated BOLD model to incorporate CMRO2 measurements in hypoxia. The extended model, which was cross-validated with a multicompartment BOLD model, considers the influences of the reduced arterial saturation level and increased baseline cerebral blood volume (CBV) and deoxyhemoglobin concentration on the changes of BOLD signals in hypoxia. By implementing a pulse sequence to simultaneously acquire the CBV-, CBF- and BOLD-weighted signals, we investigated the effects of mild hypoxia on the CBF and CMRO2 responses to graded visual stimuli. Compared with normoxia, mild hypoxia caused significant alterations in both the amplitude and the trend of the CMRO2 responses but did not impact the corresponding CBF responses. Our observations suggested that the flow-metabolism coupling strategies in the brain during mild hypoxia were different from those during normoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoyu Zhang
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yayan Yin
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Huanjie Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing City Key Lab for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Markuerkiaga I, Barth M, Norris DG. A cortical vascular model for examining the specificity of the laminar BOLD signal. Neuroimage 2016; 132:491-498. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Revised: 02/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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Whittaker JR, Driver ID, Bright MG, Murphy K. The absolute CBF response to activation is preserved during elevated perfusion: Implications for neurovascular coupling measures. Neuroimage 2016; 125:198-207. [PMID: 26477657 PMCID: PMC4692513 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques in which the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) response to a neural stimulus are measured, can be used to estimate the fractional increase in the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) that accompanies evoked neural activity. A measure of neurovascular coupling is obtained from the ratio of fractional CBF and CMRO2 responses, defined as n, with the implicit assumption that relative rather than absolute changes in CBF and CMRO2 adequately characterise the flow-metabolism response to neural activity. The coupling parameter n is important in terms of its effect on the BOLD response, and as potential insight into the flow-metabolism relationship in both normal and pathological brain function. In 10 healthy human subjects, BOLD and CBF responses were measured to test the effect of baseline perfusion (modulated by a hypercapnia challenge) on the coupling parameter n during graded visual stimulation. A dual-echo pulsed arterial spin labelling (PASL) sequence provided absolute quantification of CBF in baseline and active states as well as relative BOLD signal changes, which were used to estimate CMRO2 responses to the graded visual stimulus. The absolute CBF response to the visual stimuli were constant across different baseline CBF levels, meaning the fractional CBF responses were reduced at the hyperperfused baseline state. For the graded visual stimuli, values of n were significantly reduced during hypercapnia induced hyperperfusion. Assuming the evoked neural responses to the visual stimuli are the same for both baseline CBF states, this result has implications for fMRI studies that aim to measure neurovascular coupling using relative changes in CBF. The coupling parameter n is sensitive to baseline CBF, which would confound its interpretation in fMRI studies where there may be significant differences in baseline perfusion between groups. The absolute change in CBF, as opposed to the change relative to baseline, may more closely match the underlying increase in neural activity in response to a stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R Whittaker
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK
| | - Ian D Driver
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK
| | - Molly G Bright
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK; Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, Clinical Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Kevin Murphy
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, UK.
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