In the brain, increased neural activity is correlated with increases of cerebral blood flow and tissue oxygenation. However, how cerebral oxygen dynamics are controlled in the behaving animal remains unclear. We investigated to what extent cerebral oxygenation varies during locomotion. We measured oxygen levels in the cortex of awake, head-fixed mice during locomotion using polarography, spectroscopy, and two-photon phosphorescence lifetime measurements of oxygen sensors. We find that locomotion significantly and globally increases cerebral oxygenation, specifically in areas involved in locomotion, as well as in the frontal cortex and the olfactory bulb. The oxygenation increase persists when neural activity and functional hyperemia are blocked, occurred both in the tissue and in arteries feeding the brain, and is tightly correlated with respiration rate and the phase of respiration cycle. Thus, breathing rate is a key modulator of cerebral oxygenation and should be monitored during hemodynamic imaging, such as in BOLD fMRI.

The brain lacks a traditional lymphatic system for metabolite clearance. The existence of a “glymphatic system” where metabolites are removed from the brain’s extracellular space by convective exchange between interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) along the paravascular spaces (PVS) around cerebral blood vessels has been controversial. While recent work has shown clear evidence of directional flow of CSF in the PVS in anesthetized mice, the driving force for the observed fluid flow remains elusive. The heartbeat-driven peristaltic pulsation of arteries has been proposed as a probable driver of directed CSF flow. In this study, we use rigorous fluid dynamic simulations to provide a physical interpretation for peristaltic pumping of fluids. Our simulations match the experimental results and show that arterial pulsations only drive oscillatory motion of CSF in the PVS. The observed directional CSF flow can be explained by naturally occurring and/or experimenter-generated pressure differences.

The brain lacks a conventional lymphatic system to remove metabolic waste. It has been proposed that directional fluid movement through the arteriolar paravascular space (PVS) promotes metabolite clearance. We performed simulations to examine if arteriolar pulsations and dilations can drive directional CSF flow in the PVS and found that arteriolar wall movements do not drive directional CSF flow. We propose an alternative method of metabolite clearance from the PVS, namely fluid exchange between the PVS and the subarachnoid space (SAS). In simulations with compliant brain tissue, arteriolar pulsations did not drive appreciable fluid exchange between the PVS and the SAS. However, when the arteriole dilated, as seen during functional hyperemia, there was a marked exchange of fluid. Simulations suggest that functional hyperemia may serve to increase metabolite clearance from the PVS. We measured blood vessels and brain tissue displacement simultaneously in awake, head-fixed mice using two-photon microscopy. These measurements showed that brain deforms in response to pressure changes in PVS, consistent with our simulations. Our results show that the deformability of the brain tissue needs to be accounted for when studying fluid flow and metabolite transport.

The brain lacks a traditional lymphatic system for metabolite clearance. The existence a "glymphatic system" where metabolites are removed from the brain's extracellular space by convective exchange between interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) along the paravascular spaces (PVS) around cerebral blood vessels has been controversial for nearly a decade. While recent work has shown clear evidence of directional flow of CSF in the PVS in anesthetized mice, the driving force for the observed fluid flow remains elusive. The heartbeatdriven peristaltic pulsation of arteries has been proposed as a probable driver of directed CSF flow. In this study, we use rigorous fluid dynamic simulations to provide a physical interpretation for peristaltic pumping of fluids. Our simulations match the experimental results and show that arterial pulsations only drive oscillatory motion of CSF in the PVS. The observed directional CSF flow can be explained by naturally occurring and/or experimenter-generated pressure differences.

The movement of fluid into, through, and out of the brain plays an important role in clearing metabolic waste. However, there is controversy regarding the mechanisms driving fluid movement in the fluid-filled paravascular spaces (PVS), and whether the movement of metabolic waste in the brain extracellular space (ECS) is primarily driven by diffusion or convection. The dilation of penetrating arterioles in the brain in response to increases in neural activity (neurovascular coupling) is an attractive candidate for driving fluid circulation, as it drives deformation of the brain tissue and of the PVS around arteries, resulting in fluid movement. We simulated the effects of vasodilation on fluid movement into and out of the brain ECS using a novel poroelastic model of brain tissue. We found that arteriolar dilations could drive convective flow through the ECS radially outward from the arteriole, and that this flow is sensitive to the dynamics of the dilation. Simulations of sleep-like conditions, with larger vasodilations and increased extracellular volume in the brain showed enhanced movement of fluid from the PVS into the ECS. Our simulations suggest that both sensory-evoked and sleep-related arteriolar dilations can drive convective flow of cerebrospinal fluid not just in the PVS, but also into the ECS through the PVS around arterioles.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signaling molecule that plays an important role in neurovascular coupling. NO produced by neurons diffuses into the smooth muscle surrounding cerebral arterioles, driving vasodilation. However, the rate of NO degradation in hemoglobin is orders of magnitude higher than in brain tissue, though how this might impact NO signaling dynamics is not completely understood. We used simulations to investigate how the spatial and temporal patterns of NO generation and degradation impacted dilation of a penetrating arteriole in cortex. We found that the spatial location of NO production and the size of the vessel both played an important role in determining its responsiveness to NO. The much higher rate of NO degradation and scavenging of NO in the blood relative to the tissue drove emergent vascular dynamics. Large vasodilation events could be followed by post-stimulus constrictions driven by the increased degradation of NO by the blood, and vasomotion-like 0.1-0.3 Hz oscillations could also be generated. We found that these dynamics could be enhanced by elevation of free hemoglobin in the plasma, which occurs in diseases such as malaria and sickle cell anemia, or following blood transfusions. Finally, we show that changes in blood flow during hypoxia or hyperoxia could be explained by altered NO degradation in the parenchyma. Our simulations suggest that many common vascular dynamics may be emergent phenomena generated by NO degradation by the blood or parenchyma.

The brain lacks a conventional lymphatic system to remove metabolic waste. It has been proposed that fluid movement through the arterial paravascular space (PVS) promotes metabolite clearance. We performed simulations to understand how arterial pulsations and dilations, and brain deformability affect PVS fluid flow. In simulations with compliant brain tissue, arterial pulsations did not drive appreciable flows in the PVS. However, when the artery dilated as in functional hyperemia, there was a marked movement of fluid. Simulations suggest that functional hyperemia may also serve to increase fluid exchange between the PVS and the subarachnoid space. We measured blood vessels and brain tissue displacement simultaneously in awake, head-fixed mice using two-photon microscopy. Measurements show that brain deforms in response to fluid movement in PVS, as predicted by simulations. Our results show that the deformability of the brain tissue needs to be accounted for when studying fluid flow and metabolite transport.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signaling molecule that plays an important role 1 in neurovascular coupling. NO produced by neurons diffuses into the smooth muscle 2 surrounding cerebral arterioles, driving vasodilation.However, the rate of NO 3 degradation in hemoglobin is orders of magnitude higher than in brain tissue, though how 4 this might impact NO signaling dynamics is not completely understood. We used 5 simulations to investigate how the spatial and temporal patterns of NO generation and 6 degradation impacted dilation of a penetrating arteriole in cortex. We found that the 7 spatial location of NO production and the size of the vessel both played an important role 8 in determining its responsiveness to NO. The much higher rate of NO degradation and 9 scavenging of NO in the blood relative to the tissue drove emergent vascular dynamics. 10Large vasodilation events could be followed by post-stimulus constrictions driven by the 11 increased degradation of NO by the blood, and vasomotion-like 0.1-0.3 Hz oscillations 12 could also be generated. We found that these dynamics could be enhanced by elevation 13 of free hemoglobin in the plasma, which occurs in diseases such as malaria and sickle 14 cell anemia, or following blood transfusions. Finally, we show that changes in blood flow 15 during hypoxia or hyperoxia could be explained by altered NO degradation in the 16 parenchyma. Our simulations suggest that many common vascular dynamics may be 17 emergent phenomenon generated by NO degradation by the blood or parenchyma. 18 19 20 21 22 23 fold faster than the surrounding tissue 73,75-78 . Because NO reacts with hemoglobin at 70 much higher rates than the tissue, the hemoglobin present inside a vessel plays an 71 appreciable role in shaping NO concentrations at the smooth muscle where it acts. Under 72 normal conditions, most hemoglobin in the blood in confined to red blood cells, with low 73 levels in the plasma. Due to fluid dynamics 79-81 , red blood cells will be excluded from the 74 few micrometer-thick cell free layer next to the endothelial cells, providing a measure of 75 spatial separation between the region of high NO degradation and the smooth muscles. 76However, if hemoglobin levels in the plasma rise (due to pathology or other processes) 82-77 89 , this will greatly increase the degradation rate of NO in the plasma, leading to decreased 78 NO levels in the smooth muscle 83,[90][91][92] . NO's diffusive properties and known reaction 79 rates lend themselves to computational approaches to understanding NO 80 signaling 38,59,75,78,[93][94][95][96][97][98] . While there have been detailed and informative models of NO 81 signaling from endothelial cells 59,91,96,99,100 showing that the size of the arteriole 75 and 82properties of the blood 96 are vital components to understanding NO signaling, the insight 83 from these models that the spatial location of blood plays an important role in the 84 degradation of NO has not been applied to neurovascular coupling or in a dynamic setting. 85 Intriguingly, in...