Source data for - Bidirectional alterations in brain temperature profoundly modulate spatiotemporal neurovascular responses in-vivo: Implications for theragnostics

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is a mechanism that, amongst other known and
latent critical functions, ensures activated brain regions are adequately
supplied with oxygen and glucose. This biological phenomenon underpins
non-invasive perfusion-related neuroimaging techniques, and recent reports
have implicated NVC impairment in several neurodegenerative disorders.
Yet, much remains unknown regarding NVC in health and disease, and only
recently has there been burgeoning recognition of a close interplay with
brain thermodynamics. Accordingly, we developed a novel multi-modal
approach to systematically modulate cortical temperature and interrogate
the spatiotemporal dynamics of sensory-evoked NVC. We show that changes in
cortical temperature profoundly and intricately modulate NVC, with low
temperatures associated with diminished oxygen delivery, and high
temperatures inducing a distinct vascular oscillation. These observations
provide novel insights into the relationship between NVC and brain
thermodynamics, with important implications for brain-temperature-related
therapies, functional biomarkers of elevated brain temperature, and
in-vivo methods to study neurovascular coupling.