Neural correlates of blood flow measured by ultrasound

• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.02.012
• Publication Date: 2022-03-11T15:26:31Z
• Authors: Anwar O. Nunez-El...; Michael Krumin; Charu Bai Reddy; Gabriel Montaldo; Alan Urban; Kenneth D. Harris; Matteo Carandini
• Keywords: Local field potential; Stimulus (psychology); Smoothing; SIGNAL (programming language)

Functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) is an appealing method for measuring blood flow and thus infer brain activity, but it relies on the physiology of neurovascular coupling requires extensive signal processing. To establish to what degree fUSI trial-by-trial signals reflect neural we performed simultaneous recordings with Neuropixels probes in awake mice. strongly correlated slow (<0.3 Hz) fluctuations local firing rate were closely predicted by smoothed neurons, particularly putative inhibitory neurons. The optimal smoothing filter had a width ∼3 s, matched hemodynamic response function mice, was invariant across mice stimulus conditions, similar cortex hippocampus. also spatially: rates as highly hemispheres signals. Thus, measured bears simple accurate relationship neuronal firing.