The effects of unilateral carotid occlusion on the responses to decapitation in the gerbil brain.

The effects of partial ischemia (unilateral carotid artery occlusion) on the metabolic and electrical responses to decapitation were studied in the awake and anesthetized gerbils' brains. The gerbil was connected to the 2 channel fluorometer/reflectometer by flexible light guides implanted above the two hemispheres of the brain. The results show that: (1) the metabolic rate as measured by this present technique is lower in the gerbil than in the rat; (2) the metabolic rate of the ischemic hemisphere is lower as compared to that of the normoxic contralateral hemisphere.