Centre for Signal Processing in Neuro-imaging and Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Northumberland Road, Sheffield S10 2TP, UK.
Neuroimage. 2010 Sep;52(3):1135-47. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.102. Epub 2010 Feb 4.
Neurovascular coupling in response to stimulation of the rat barrel cortex was investigated using concurrent multichannel electrophysiology and laser Doppler flowmetry. The data were used to build a linear dynamic model relating neural activity to blood flow. Local field potential time series were subject to current source density analysis, and the time series of a layer IV sink of the barrel cortex was used as the input to the model. The model output was the time series of the changes in regional cerebral blood flow (CBF). We show that this model can provide excellent fit of the CBF responses for stimulus durations of up to 16 s. The structure of the model consisted of two coupled components representing vascular dilation and constriction. The complex temporal characteristics of the CBF time series were reproduced by the relatively simple balance of these two components. We show that the impulse response obtained under the 16-s duration stimulation condition generalised to provide a good prediction to the data from the shorter duration stimulation conditions. Furthermore, by optimising three out of the total of nine model parameters, the variability in the data can be well accounted for over a wide range of stimulus conditions. By establishing linearity, classic system analysis methods can be used to generate and explore a range of equivalent model structures (e.g., feed-forward or feedback) to guide the experimental investigation of the control of vascular dilation and constriction following stimulation.
使用同时进行的多通道电生理学和激光多普勒流量测定法研究了刺激大鼠皮层桶状结构时的神经血管耦联。这些数据被用来建立一个将神经活动与血流联系起来的线性动力学模型。局部场电势时间序列进行了电流源密度分析，桶状皮层 IV 层的汇时间序列被用作模型的输入。模型的输出是区域脑血流（CBF）变化的时间序列。我们表明，该模型可以很好地拟合长达 16 秒的刺激持续时间的 CBF 反应。模型的结构由两个耦合组件组成，分别代表血管扩张和收缩。通过这两个组件的相对简单的平衡，再现了 CBF 时间序列的复杂时间特征。我们表明，在 16 秒持续刺激条件下获得的脉冲响应可以推广到较短持续刺激条件下的数据，提供良好的预测。此外，通过优化总共有九个模型参数中的三个，可以很好地解释在广泛的刺激条件下数据的可变性。通过建立线性关系，可以使用经典的系统分析方法来生成和探索一系列等效的模型结构（例如，前馈或反馈），以指导对刺激后血管扩张和收缩的控制的实验研究。
