Department of Physics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0374, USA.
J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2012 Jul;32(7):1277-309. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2011.196. Epub 2012 Feb 1.
The cerebral vascular system services the constant demand for energy during neuronal activity in the brain. Attempts to delineate the logic of neurovascular coupling have been greatly aided by the advent of two-photon laser scanning microscopy to image both blood flow and the activity of individual cells below the surface of the brain. Here we provide a technical guide to imaging cerebral blood flow in rodents. We describe in detail the surgical procedures required to generate cranial windows for optical access to the cortex of both rats and mice and the use of two-photon microscopy to accurately measure blood flow in individual cortical vessels concurrent with local cellular activity. We further provide examples on how these techniques can be applied to the study of local blood flow regulation and vascular pathologies such as small-scale stroke.
脑血管系统为大脑神经元活动时的持续能量需求提供服务。双光子激光扫描显微镜的出现极大地促进了神经血管耦联逻辑的研究,它可以同时对血流和大脑表面以下单个细胞的活性进行成像。本文提供了一种在啮齿动物中进行脑血流成像的技术指南。我们详细描述了生成颅窗以实现对大鼠和小鼠皮层光学通路的手术过程,以及使用双光子显微镜精确测量单个皮质血管中血流与局部细胞活性同时发生的方法。我们进一步提供了这些技术如何应用于局部血流调节和小范围中风等血管病变研究的实例。