title: Attenuation of regional cerebral blood flow during memory processing after coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: Reports of memory impairment after cardiac surgery are controversial. To address this controversy, we used positron emission tomography to examine changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during memory processing before and after elective coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. In postoperative scans, we observed significantly reduced rCBF in 2 of the most important memory processing areas: the medial temporal lobe (P = 0.023) and the prefrontal cortex (P = 0.002). The results suggest postoperative attenuation of rCBF in brain areas involved in memory processing. These reductions could be used to evaluate severity of memory impairment after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in patients at risk.
authors: From the Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York; †Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; ‡Department of Nuclear Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York; and §Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Rajendra D
authors: RD
authors: Badgaiyan
authors: Steven
authors: S
authors: Weise
authors: David S
authors: DS
authors: Wack
authors: Marcos F
authors: MF
authors: Vidal Melo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011184:Postoperative Period; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology