Hemodynamics under Hippocampal Functional Hyperemia in the Anesthetized Rat: A Greater Contribution of Red Blood Cells Velocity Compared to Its Concentration

Abstract

It remains controversial which of the two regulators, red blood cell velocity (RBC-V) or concentration (RBC-C), is a main contributor for increasing flow (RBC-F) during NMDA-induced functional hyperemia in the rat hippocampus. To address this, we monitored these parameters simultaneously under NMDA-infusion via microdialysis in the hippocampus of the urethane-anesthetized rats, and found a greater elevation in RBC-V as compared to RBC-C. This suggests that RBC-V dependent increase in RBCF occurs under NMDA-induced functional hyperemia in the hippocampus, as well as that in the cortex.