Interneurons contribute to the hemodynamic/metabolic response to epileptiform discharges

Interpretation of hemodynamic responses in epilepsy is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the underlying neurovascular coupling, especially the contributions of excitation and inhibition. We made simultaneous multimodal recordings of local field potentials (LFPs), firing of individual neurons, blood flow, and oxygen level in the somatosensory cortex of anesthetized rats. Epileptiform discharges induced by bicuculline injections were used to trigger large local events. LFP and blood flow were robustly coupled, as were LFP and tissue oxygen. In a parametric linear model, LFP and the baseline activities of cerebral blood flow and tissue partial oxygen tension contributed significantly to blood flow and oxygen responses. In an analysis of recordings from 402 neurons, blood flow/tissue oxygen correlated with the discharge of putative interneurons but not of principal cells. Our results show that interneuron activity is important in the vascular and metabolic responses during epileptiform discharges.