title: Neurovascular coupling analyzed non-invasively in the human brain.
abstract: Most functional brain imaging methods detect neuronal activations indirectly through the accompanying neurovascular response. Here, we demonstrate that a novel methodological approach, the combination of DC-magnetoencephalography (DC-MEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), allows non-invasive assessment of the dynamics of neurovascular coupling in the human brain: detecting directly slow neuronal processes (with time constants of 30s), DC-MEG revealed, even in unaveraged recordings, sustained neuronal activations at pericentral hand cortices contralateral to repetitive finger movements; these were accompanied by the ensuing local vascular response showing similar dynamical features as quantified by simultaneously recorded NIRS. This non-invasive approach opens a new avenue for the understanding of neurovascular coupling during physiological tasks as well as in diseases involving slow neuronal depolarization shifts and alterations of blood flow, such as stroke or migraine.
authors.affiliation: Neurophysics Group, Department of Neurology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Freie Universität, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200 Berlin, Germany. bruno-marcel.mackert@medizin.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: Bruno-Marcel
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Mackert
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wübbeler
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leistner
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uludag
authors.forename: Hellmuth
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Obrig
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trahms
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Curio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*