2021/07/28
Keio University School of Medicine
Central Institute for Experimental Animals
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
A joint research group from the Keio University School of Medicine Department of Neuropsychiatry (Project Assistant Professor Yoshifumi Abe, Associate Professor Kenji Tanaka, et al.), Tohoku University, the Central Institute for Experimental Animals, the University of Tokyo, Niigata University, and the University of Electro-Communications has developed and implemented in mice a technology to freely increase or decrease local cerebral blood flow using light irradiation. As a result of this optical manipulation, the group has demonstrated the specific time course of how cerebral blood flow changes over time and its spatial extent, and has provided concrete examples of how these artificially manipulated changes in cerebral blood flow are reflected in neural activity and the behavior of the mice.
It is widely known that an increase in neural activity is accompanied by an increase in local cerebral blood flow. It is also well understood that irreversible blockage of blood flow, such as in a cerebral infarction, impairs brain function. However, it was not understood how reversible, local changes in blood flow specifically alter neural activity and behavior. Therefore, the research group applied a technique called optogenetics to blood vessels and developed a technology to manipulate cerebral blood flow with light. As a result, it has become possible to manipulate the cerebral blood flow of freely moving mice without anesthesia. This makes it possible to mimic various pathological conditions reported in human cerebral blood flow studies using animal models, and it is expected to lead to a better understanding of these conditions and the development of therapeutic methods targeting blood flow.
The results of this research were published in the online edition ofCell Reportson July 27, 2021 (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
For the full press release, please see below.