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Effects of vestibular lesions on blood flow to the head of conscious felines
Author(s) -
Misra Sunil P,
Wilson Timothy D,
Draper Jason A,
Cotter Lucy A,
Rice Cory D,
Cass Stephen P,
Yates Bill J
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a772-a
Subject(s) - vestibular system , vestibular nerve , medicine , blood flow , perfusion , vestibular nuclei , anatomy , audiology , cardiology
Previous research has established that the vestibular system contributes to the maintenance of stable blood pressure during postural changes. Accordingly, the loss of vestibular influences on cardiovascular regulation has been hypothesized to result in a decrease in brain perfusion during such movements. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis by recording common carotid blood flow (CcBF) in conscious felines using a perivascular flow probe. Measurements were taken during head‐up, whole body tilts of 20°, 40°, and 60°amplitudes, before and after transection of the VIII th cranial nerves. In vestibular‐intact animals, no significant changes in CcBF occurred during head‐up rotations. However, in 4/6 animals, the lesions produced lability in CcBF during tilts. Curiously, removal of vestibular inputs also elicited a ~40% increase in baseline CcBF. As a result, rotations performed after vestibular lesions did not result in lower CcBF than when vestibular inputs were intact. The mechanism leading to increases in baseline CcBF subsequent to vestibular lesions remains to be determined.