Leacy Jack K. (author); Zouboules Shaelynn (author); Mann Carli R. (author); Peltonen Joel D. B. (author); Saran Gurkan (author); Nysten Cassandra E. (author); Nysten Heidi E. (author); Brutsaert Tom D. (author); O’Halloran Ken D. (author); Sherpa Mingma T. (author); Day Trevor A. (author)
Date issued
2018
Description
Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the temporal link between neuronal metabolic activity and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF), supporting adequate delivery of nutrients. Exposure to high altitude (HA) imposes several stressors, including hypoxia and hypocapnia, which modulate cerebrovascular tone in an antagonistic fashion. Whether these contrasting stressors and subsequent adaptations affect NVC during incremental ascent to HA is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess whether incremental ascent to HA influences the NVC response. Given that CBF is sensitive to changes in arterial blood gasses, in particular PaCO2, we hypothesized that the vasoconstrictive effect of hypocapnia during...