Frontiers in Neuroscience (Oct 2024)

Cardiovascular and vasomotor pulsations in the brain and periphery during awake and NREM sleep in a multimodal fMRI study

  • Johanna Tuunanen,
  • Johanna Tuunanen,
  • Johanna Tuunanen,
  • Heta Helakari,
  • Heta Helakari,
  • Heta Helakari,
  • Niko Huotari,
  • Niko Huotari,
  • Niko Huotari,
  • Tommi Väyrynen,
  • Tommi Väyrynen,
  • Tommi Väyrynen,
  • Matti Järvelä,
  • Matti Järvelä,
  • Matti Järvelä,
  • Janne Kananen,
  • Janne Kananen,
  • Janne Kananen,
  • Janne Kananen,
  • Annastiina Kivipää,
  • Annastiina Kivipää,
  • Annastiina Kivipää,
  • Lauri Raitamaa,
  • Lauri Raitamaa,
  • Lauri Raitamaa,
  • Seyed-Mohsen Ebrahimi,
  • Seyed-Mohsen Ebrahimi,
  • Seyed-Mohsen Ebrahimi,
  • Mika Kallio,
  • Mika Kallio,
  • Johanna Piispala,
  • Johanna Piispala,
  • Vesa Kiviniemi,
  • Vesa Kiviniemi,
  • Vesa Kiviniemi,
  • Vesa Korhonen,
  • Vesa Korhonen,
  • Vesa Korhonen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1457732
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18

Abstract

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IntroductionThe cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in the human brain are driven by physiological pulsations, including cardiovascular pulses and very low-frequency (< 0.1 Hz) vasomotor waves. Ultrafast functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) facilitates the simultaneous measurement of these signals from venous and arterial compartments independently with both classical venous blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) and faster arterial spin-phase contrast.MethodsIn this study, we compared the interaction of these two pulsations in awake and sleep using fMRI and peripheral fingertip photoplethysmography in both arterial and venous signals in 10 healthy subjects (5 female).ResultsSleep increased the power of brain cardiovascular pulsations, decreased peripheral pulsation, and desynchronized them. However, vasomotor waves increase power and synchronicity in both brain and peripheral signals during sleep. Peculiarly, lag between brain and peripheral vasomotor signals reversed in sleep within the default mode network. Finally, sleep synchronized cerebral arterial vasomotor waves with venous BOLD waves within distinct parasagittal brain tissue.DiscussionThese changes in power and pulsation synchrony may reflect systemic sleep-related changes in vascular control between the periphery and brain vasculature, while the increased synchrony of arterial and venous compartments may reflect increased convection of regional neurofluids in parasagittal areas in sleep.

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