scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers by "Costantino Iadecola published in 1987"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Increases in cortical rCBF elicited by FN stimulation, but not hypercarbia, are in large part mediated by local muscarinic cholinergic receptors; resting r CBF is not tonically affected by muscaric receptor activation; and the release of ACh from the cortical surface is, in general, reduced during FN-stimulation.

50 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that the vasodilation evoked from FN in cerebral cortex depends on the integrity of a restricted population of local neurons that interact with the local microvasculature.
Abstract: The vasodilation elicited in cerebral cortex by stimulation of the cerebellar fastigial nucleus (FN) is mediated by input pathways coming from the basal forebrain. We studied whether these pathways mediate the cortical vasodilation via a direct action on local blood vessels or via interposed local neurons. Neurons were destroyed in the primary sensory cortex by local microinjection of the excitotoxin ibotenic acid (IBO) (10 micrograms/l microliter). Five days later rats were anesthetized (alpha-chloralose), paralyzed, and ventilated. Arterial pressure and blood gases were controlled, and FN was stimulated electrically. Local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) was measured using the [14C]iodoantipyrine technique with autoradiography. Five days after IBO, neurons were destroyed in a restricted cortical area, and afferent fibers and terminals were preserved. The selectivity of the neuronal loss was established by histological and biochemical criteria and by transport of horseradish peroxidase from or into the lesion. Within the lesion, resting LCBF (n = 7) was unaffected, but the increase in LCBF evoked from the FN was abolished (P greater than 0.05); n = 6). In contrast the vasodilation elicited by hypercapnia (arterial CO2 partial pressure = 62.7 +/- 3; n = 5) was preserved. In the rest of the brain the vasodilation elicited from FN was largely unaffected. We conclude that the vasodilation evoked from FN in cerebral cortex depends on the integrity of a restricted population of local neurons that interact with the local microvasculature.

49 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results suggest that DMRF stimulation allows, through a mechanism not yet determined, circulating CAs to act on brain and affect brain function.
Abstract: We studied whether adrenal medullary catecholamines (CAs) contribute to the metabolically linked increase in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) elicited by electrical stimulation of the dorsal medullary reticular formation (DMRF). Rats were anesthetized (alpha-chloralose, 30 mg/kg), paralyzed, and artificially ventilated. The DMRF was electrically stimulated with intermittent trains of pulses through microelectrodes stereotaxically implanted. Blood gases were controlled and, during stimulation, arterial pressure was maintained within the autoregulated range for rCBF. rCBF and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability were determined in homogenates of brain regions by using [14C]iodoantipyrine and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), respectively, as tracers. Plasma CAs (epinephrine and norepinephrine) were measured radioenzymatically. DMRF stimulation increased rCBF throughout the brain (n = 5; P less than 0.01, analysis of variance) and elevated plasma CAs substantially (n = 4). Acute bilateral adrenalectomy abolished the increase in plasma epinephrine (n = 4), reduced the increases in flow (n = 6) in cerebral cortex (P less than 0.05), and abolished them elsewhere in brain (P greater than 0.05). Comparable effects on rCBF were obtained by selective adrenal demedullation (n = 7) or pretreatment with propranolol (1.5 mg/kg iv) (n = 5). DMRF stimulation did not increase the permeability of the BBB to AIB (n = 5). We conclude that the increases in rCBF elicited from the DMRF has two components, one dependent on, and the other independent of CAs. Since the BBB is impermeable to CAs and DMRF stimulation fails to open the BBB, the results suggest that DMRF stimulation allows, through a mechanism not yet determined, circulating CAs to act on brain and affect brain function.

12 citations