Regional differences in mechanisms of cerebral circulatory response to neuronal activation

Jun Gotoh, Tang Yong Kuang, Yasuaki Nakao, David M. Cohen, Peter Melzer, Yoshiaki Itoh, Hazel Pak, Karen Pettigrew, Louis Sokoloff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vibrissal stimulation raises cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the ipsilateral spinal and principal sensory trigeminal nuclei and contralateral ventroposteromedial (VPM) thalamic nucleus and barrel cortex. To investigate possible roles of adenosine and nitric oxide (NO) in these increases, local CBF was determined during unilateral vibrissal stimulation in unanesthetized rats after adenosine receptor blockade with caffeine or NO synthase inhibition with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or 7-nitroindazole (7-NI). Caffeine lowered baseline CBF in all structures but reduced the percent increase during stimulation only in the two trigeminal nuclei. L-NAME and 7-NI lowered baseline CBF but reduced the percent increase during stimulation only in the higher stations of this sensory pathway, i.e., L-NAME in the VPM nucleus and 7-NI in both the VPM nucleus and barrel cortex. Combinations of caffeine with 7-NI or L-NAME did not have additive effects, and none alone or in combination completely eliminated functional activation of CBF. These results suggest that caffeine-sensitive and NO-dependent mechanisms are involved but with different regional distributions, and neither fully accounts for the functional activation of CBF.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)H821-H829
JournalAmerican Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology
Volume280
Issue number2 49-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2001

Keywords

  • 7-nitroindazole
  • Adenosine
  • Caffeine
  • N-nitro-L-arginine
  • Nitric oxide

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Physiology (medical)

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