A double tracer autoradiographic technique for simultaneous measurement of cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolism in rats.

Double tracer autoradiographic measurement of cerebral blood flow and glucose consumption was performed in rats using 131I-iodo-antipyrine and 14C-deoxyglucose, respectively. Local coupling of blood flow and metabolism was studied under different types of anesthesia (barbiturate, halothane), following experimental tumor implantation, and during penicillin seizures or spreading depression. Both coupling and uncoupling of flow and metabolism was observed on the same tissue section, indicating a considerable degree of variability in local coupling mechanisms.