The effects of altered intrathoracic pressure on resting cerebral blood flow and its response to visual stimulation

• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.10.049
• Publication Date: 2012-10-27T07:17:45Z
• Authors: Anja Hayen; Mari Herigstad; Michael Kelly; Thomas W. Okell; Kevin Murphy; Richard G. Wise; Kyle T.S. Pattinson
• Keywords: Cerebral autoregulation

Investigating how intrathoracic pressure changes affect cerebral blood flow (CBF) is important for a clear interpretation of neuroimaging data in patients with abnormal respiratory physiology, intensive care receiving mechanical ventilation and research paradigms that manipulate pressure.Here, we investigated the effect experimentally increased decreased pressures upon CBF stimulus-evoked response to visual stimulation.Twenty healthy volunteers received intermittent inspiratory expiratory loads (plus or minus 9 cmH 2 O 270 s) viewed an Hz flashing checkerboard, while maintaining stable end-tidal CO .CBF was recorded transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) whole-brain pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (PCASL MRI).Application loading (negative pressure) showed increase TCD-measured 4% PCASL-measured grey matter 5%, but did not alter mean (MAP).Expiratory (positive CBF, MAP by 3%.Neither condition altered perfusion stimulation primary cortex.In both conditions localized increases were observed somatosensory motor cortices, cerebellum.Altered pressures, whether induced experimentally, therapeutically through disease process, have possible significant effects on should be considered as potential systematic confound perfusion-based data.