title: Feed the brain: insights into the study of neurovascular coupling.
abstract: The microcirculation is tightly regulated by a diverse range of mechanisms which share the common goal of matching blood flow delivery with tissue metabolic demand. Despite in-depth examination of tissues like skeletal muscle, brain microcirculation has remained largely unexplored due to methodological limitations. Recent, technological advances have, however, started to grant greater access to this vital microcirculatory bed. This overview is part of a Special Topics Issue centered on the methodology, theory, and mechanistic basis of neurovascular coupling. Solicited manuscripts have been purposely written in an opinionated manner to provoke thought and to illuminate new emerging areas of investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain and Libin Cardiovascular Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ledoux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008833:Microcirculation; D000069336:Neurovascular Coupling; D010506:Periodicals as Topic
keywords: blood flow regulation; cerebral arteries; multiphoton microscopy; optogenetics; vasomotor tone