Neurovascular coupling

The Bimodal Nature of Neurovascular Coupling

Neurons, by virtue of their complex and continuously changing signaling roles in brain, must be able to regulate access to energy in order to maintain their ability to communicate meaningful frequency-encoded information. This is accomplished by release of neurotransmitters to astrocytes that in turn signal the vascular system to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF). This process has been termed ...

Neurovascular coupling - Scholarpedia

Neurovascular coupling refers to the relationship between local neural activity and subsequent changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF). The magnitude and spatial location of blood flow changes are tightly linked to changes in neural activity through a complex sequence of coordinated events involving neurons, glia, and vascular cells. Many vascular-based functional brain imaging techniques, such as...

Neurovascular coupling: a parallel implementation

A numerical model of neurovascular coupling (NVC) is presented based on neuronal activity coupled to vasodilation/contraction models via the astrocytic mediated perivascular K(+) and the smooth muscle cell (SMC) Ca(2+) pathway termed a neurovascular unit (NVU). Luminal agonists acting on P2Y receptors on the endothelial cell (EC) surface provide a flux of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) into the e...

Spreading depression and neurovascular coupling.

Investigating the Limits of Neurovascular Coupling

O'Herron et al. (2016) perform two-photon imaging of vascular and neural responses in cat and rodent primary visual cortex to investigate the limits of neurovascular coupling. Their results suggest important constraints on making inferences about neuronal responses from hemodynamic activity.