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We investigated the relationship between neuronal activity, oxygen metabolism, and hemodynamic responses in rat somatosensory cortex with simultaneous optical intrinsic signal imaging and spectroscopy, laser Doppler flowmetry, and local field potential recordings. Changes in cerebral oxygen consumption increased linearly with synaptic activity but with a threshold effect consistent with the existence of a tissue oxygen buffer. Modeling analysis demonstrated that the coupling between neuronal activity and hemodynamic response magnitude may appear linear over a narrow range but incorporates nonlinear effects that are better described by a threshold or power law relationship. These results indicate that caution is required in the interpretation of perfusion-based indicators of brain activity, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and may help to refine quantitative models of neurovascular coupling.

Using equal-channel angular (ECA) pressing at room temperature, the grain sizes of six different commercial aluminum-based alloys (1100, 2024, 3004, 5083, 6061, and 7075) were reduced to within the submicrometer range. These grains were reasonably stable up to annealing temperatures of ϳ200 ЊC and the submicrometer grains were retained in the 2024 and 7075 alloys to annealing temperatures of 300 ЊC. Tensile testing after ECA pressing through a single pass, equivalent to the introduction of a strain of ϳ1, showed there is a significant increase in the values of the 0.2 pct proof stress and the ultimate tensile stress (UTS) for each alloy with a corresponding reduction in the elongations to failure. It is demonstrated that the magnitudes of these stresses scale with the square root of the Mg content in each alloy. Similar values for the proof stresses and the UTS were attained at the same equivalent strains in samples subjected to cold rolling, but the elongations to failure were higher after ECA pressing to equivalent strains Ͼ1 because of the introduction of a very small grain size. Detailed results for the 1100 and 3004 alloys show good agreement with the standard Hall-Petch relationship.

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Cortical neurons with similar properties are grouped in columnar structures and supplied by matching vascular networks. The hemodynamic response to neuronal activation, however, is not well described on a fine spatial scale. We investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of microvascular responses to neuronal activation in rat barrel cortex using optical intrinsic signal imaging and spectroscopy. Imaging was performed at 570 nm to provide functional maps of cerebral blood volume (CBV) changes and at 610 nm to estimate oxygenation changes. To emphasize parenchymal rather than large vessel contributions to the functional hemodynamic responses, we developed an ANOVA-based statistical analysis technique. Perfusion-based maps were compared with underlying neuroanatomy with cytochrome oxidase staining. Statistically determined CBV responses localized accurately to individually stimulated barrel columns and could resolve neighboring columns with a resolution better than 400 m. Both CBV and early oxygenation responses extended beyond anatomical boundaries of single columns, but this vascular point spread did not preclude spatial specificity. These results indicate that microvascular flow control structures providing targeted flow increases to metabolically active neuronal columns also produce finely localized changes in CBV. This spatial specificity, along with the high contrast/noise ratio, makes the CBV response an attractive mapping signal. We also found that functional oxygenation changes can achieve submillimeter specificity not only during the transient deoxygenation ("initial dip") but also during the early part of the hyperoxygenation. We, therefore, suggest that to optimize hemodynamic spatial specificity, appropriate response timing (using Յ2-3 sec changes) is more important than etiology (oxygenation or volume).