Patrick J. Drew, PhD
Huck Distinguished Associate Professor of Neural Engineering and Neurosurgery, Depts. of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Neurosurgery, and Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract:

In the brain, increases in blood flow and oxygenation are correlated to increases in neural activity.  While this correlation is extensively used in human brain imaging, the mechanisms underlying the linkage between neural activity and hemodynamics are poorly understood, and it is not known which neurons drive vasodilation. I will describe recent work where we dissect the role of different neuronal cell types in generating arterial dilations in awake and sleeping mice.  We found that a subset of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-expressing interneurons play an outsized role in regulating sensory-evoked vasodilation, but also control the resting cortical arterial tone.

Publications:
Turner KL, Gheres KW, Proctor EA, Drew PJ, (2020) Neurovascular coupling and bilateral connectivity during NREM and REM sleep, eLife, e62071 doi: 10.7554/eLife.62071

Echagarruga CE, Gheres KH, Norwood JN, Drew PJ, (2020) nNOS-expressing interneurons control basal and behaviorally-evoked arterial dilation in somatosensory cortex of mice, eLife, 9:e60533 doi:10.7554/eLife.60533
 

Winder AT, Echagarruga CE, Zhang Q, Drew PJ, (2017) Weak correlations between hemodynamic signals and ongoing neural activity during the resting state, Nature Neuroscience, 20(12):1761-1769. doi:10.1038/s41593-017-0007-y