Effect of norepinephrine on penetrating arterioles of rat cerebral cortex

Regulation of the Cerebral Circulation During Development

The cerebral microcirculation undergoes dynamic changes in parallel with the development of neurons, glia, and their energy metabolism throughout gestation and postnatally. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), oxygen consumption, and glucose consumption are as low as 20% of adult levels in humans born prematurely but eventually exceed adult levels at ages 3 to 11 years, which coincide with the period of continued brain growth, synapse formation, synapse pruning, and myelination. Neurovascular coupling to sensory activation is present but attenuated at birth. By 2 postnatal months, the increase in CBF often is disproportionately smaller than the increase in oxygen consumption, in contrast to the relative hyperemia seen in adults. Vascular smooth muscle myogenic tone increases in parallel with developmental increases in arterial pressure. CBF autoregulatory response to increased arterial pressure is intact at birth but has a more limited range with arterial hypotension. Hypoxia-induced vasodilation in preterm fetal sheep with low oxygen consumption does not sustain cerebral oxygen transport, but the response becomes better developed for sustaining oxygen transport by term. Nitric oxide tonically inhibits vasomotor tone, and glutamate receptor activation can evoke its release in lambs and piglets. In piglets, astrocyte-derived carbon monoxide plays a central role in vasodilation evoked by glutamate, ADP, and seizures, and prostanoids play a large role in endothelial-dependent and hypercapnic vasodilation. Overall, homeostatic mechanisms of CBF regulation in response to arterial pressure, neuronal activity, carbon dioxide, and oxygenation are present at birth but continue to develop postnatally as neurovascular signaling pathways are dynamically altered and integrated. © 2021 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 11:1-62, 2021.

Ultra-slow Oscillations in fMRI and Resting-State Connectivity: Neuronal and Vascular Contributions and Technical Confounds

Ultra-slow, ∼0.1-Hz variations in the oxygenation level of brain blood are widely used as an fMRI-based surrogate of "resting-state" neuronal activity. The temporal correlations among these fluctuations across the brain are interpreted as "functional connections" for maps and neurological diagnostics. Ultra-slow variations in oxygenation follow a cascade. First, they closely track changes in arteriole diameter. Second, interpretable functional connections arise when the ultra-slow changes in amplitude of γ-band neuronal oscillations, which are shared across even far-flung but synaptically connected brain regions, entrain the ∼0.1-Hz vasomotor oscillation in diameter of local arterioles. Significant confounds to estimates of functional connectivity arise from residual vasomotor activity as well as arteriole dynamics driven by self-generated movements and subcortical common modulatory inputs. Last, methodological limitations of fMRI can lead to spurious functional connections. The neuronal generator of ultra-slow variations in γ-band amplitude, including that associated with self-generated movements, remains an open issue.

The brain's hemodynamic response function rapidly changes under acute psychosocial stress in association with genetic and endocrine stress response markers

Ample evidence links dysregulation of the stress response to the risk for psychiatric disorders. However, we lack an integrated understanding of mechanisms that are adaptive during the acute stress response but potentially pathogenic when dysregulated. One mechanistic link emerging from rodent studies is the interaction between stress effectors and neurovascular coupling, a process that adjusts cerebral blood flow according to local metabolic demands. Here, using task-related fMRI, we show that acute psychosocial stress rapidly impacts the peak latency of the hemodynamic response function (HRF-PL) in temporal, insular, and prefrontal regions in two independent cohorts of healthy humans. These latency effects occurred in the absence of amplitude effects and were moderated by regulatory genetic variants of KCNJ2, a known mediator of the effect of stress on vascular responsivity. Further, hippocampal HRF-PL correlated with both cortisol response and genetic variants that influence the transcriptional response to stress hormones and are associated with risk for major depression. We conclude that acute stress modulates hemodynamic response properties as part of the physiological stress response and suggest that HRF indices could serve as endophenotype of stress-related disorders.

The locus coeruleus-norepinephrine network optimizes coupling of cerebral blood volume with oxygen demand

Given the brain's uniquely high cell density and tissue oxygen levels bordering on hypoxia, the ability to rapidly and precisely match blood flow to constantly changing patterns in neural activity is an essential feature of cerebrovascular regulation. Locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) projections innervate the cerebral vasculature and can mediate vasoconstriction. However, function of the LC-mediated constriction in blood-flow regulation has never been addressed. Here, using intrinsic optical imaging coupled with an anesthesia regimen that only minimally interferes with LC activity, we show that NE enhances spatial and temporal aspects of functional hyperemia in the mouse somatosensory cortex. Increasing NE levels in the cortex using an α(2)-adrenergic receptor antagonist paradoxically reduces the extent of functional hyperemia while enhancing the surround blood-flow reduction. However, the NE-mediated vasoconstriction optimizes spatial and temporal focusing of the hyperemic response resulting in a sixfold decrease in the disparity between blood volume and oxygen demand. In addition, NE-mediated vasoconstriction accelerated redistribution to subsequently active regions, enhancing temporal synchronization of blood delivery. These observations show an important role for NE in optimizing neurovascular coupling. As LC neuron loss is prominent in Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases, the diminished ability to couple blood volume to oxygen demand may contribute to their pathogenesis.

Vascular tone and neurovascular coupling: considerations toward an improved in vitro model

Neurovascular research has made significant strides toward understanding how the brain neurovascular unit accomplishes rapid and spatial increases in blood flow following neuronal activation. Among the experimental models used, the in vitro brain slice preparation provides unique information revealing the potential signals and cellular mechanisms involved in functional hyperemia. The most crucial limitation of this model, however, is the lack of intraluminal pressure and flow in the vessels being studied. Moreover, differences in basal vascular tone have led to varied interpretations regarding the polarity of vascular responses following neuron-to-glial stimulation. Given the complexity of astrocyte-induced neurovascular responses, we propose the use of a modified in vitro brain slice preparation, where intraluminal arteriolar pressure and flow are retained. Throughout this review, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages to be considered when using brain slices for neurovascular studies. Potential ways to overcome the current limitations are proposed.

Neurovascular coupling in the mammalian brain

Normal brain function requires proper supply of oxygen and glucose in a timely and local manner. This is achieved through an orchestrated intercellular communication between neurones, astrocytes and microvessels that results in a rapid and restricted increase in cerebral blood flow, a process known as neurovascular coupling. Astrocytic end-feet make close contacts with neuronal synapses and blood vessels and, given their ability to release vasoactive signals following neuronal activation, have been recognized as key intermediaries in the neurovascular response. Both dilating and constricting signals appear to be released from astrocytes upon increases in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and both dilatation and constriction of brain vessels have been observed in previous studies. In this article, we discuss the various astrocyte-derived vasodilating and vasoconstricting signals, their interactions and effects on astrocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, and suggest the importance of the intrinsic properties of the latter cell type on the overall neurovascular response. We present a working model in which the rise in astrocytic Ca(2+) following neuronal activation leads not only to the rapid activation of calcium-activated K(+) channels in astrocytic end-feet, but also to their modulation by metabolites of the arachidonic acid pathway, which in general have been proposed to act on vascular smooth muscle cells rather than on astrocytes. We propose that this latter mechanism may in turn modulate K(+) signalling from astrocytes to smooth muscle cells, influencing the overall effects of the vasodilating and vasoconstricting signals released during neuronal activation.

Extracellular and intracellular alkalinization and the constriction of rat cerebral arterioles

1. Direct observations of perfused cerebral arterioles in vivo and in vitro have demonstrated that alkalinization of blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) causes arteriolar constriction. Inasmuch as such alkalinizations lead to increases in intracellular pH (pHi) as well as interstitial pH (pHo), it is possible that increases in either pHi or pHo (or both) underlie alkalinization-induced cerebral vasoconstriction. In order to test the hypothesis that changes in pHi alone underline alkalinization-induced cerebral vasoconstriction, we simultaneously measured vessel diameter and pHi (using the pH-sensitive dye, SNAFL) in isolated cerebral arterioles from adult rats during imposed alterations in pHo and pHi. 2. Penetrating cerebral arterioles from the distribution of the middle cerebral artery were hand dissected, cannulated on one end and occluded distally. Vessels were inflated hydrostatically to 60 cmH2O under no-flow conditions. Confocal microscopy verified specific pH-sensitivity dye staining of the vascular smooth muscle cells within the vessel wall. 3. Extracellular alkalinization from pH 7.3 to 7.8 caused pHi to increase by 0.06 +/- 0.01 of a pH unit, and vessel diameter to decrease by 21.8 +/- 1.8% (mean +/- S.E.M.). 4. Intracellular alkalinization at constant pHo was produced by exposure to weak bases, including NH3 and trimethylamine, or by exposure to, followed by withdrawal of, weak acids, including CO2 and acetic acid. None of these treatments evoked vasoconstriction even though each of them caused increases in pHi greater than those observed in the same vessels during exposure to the pHo 7.8 solution. 5. We conclude that, at least in cerebral arterioles, alkalinization-induced vasoconstriction is mediated by an increase in pHo, not pHi [corrected].