Different Time Evolution of Oxyhemoglobin and Deoxyhemoglobin Concentration Changes in the Visual and Motor Cortices during Functional Stimulation: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Neurovascular coupling is the generic term for changes in cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO(2)), cerebral blood flow, and cerebral blood volume related to brain activity. The goal of this paper is to better understand the effects of neurovascular coupling in the visual and motor cortices using frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy. Maps of concentration changes in oxyhemoglobin [O(2)Hb], deoxyhemoglobin [HHb], and total hemoglobin of the visual and motor cortices were generated during stimulation using a reversing checkerboard screen and palm-squeezing, respectively. Seven healthy volunteers of 18-37 years of age were included. In the visual cortex the patterns of [O(2)Hb] and [HHb] were strongly linearly correlated (r(2) > 0.8 in 13 of a total of 24 locations). In 20 locations the change in [O(2)Hb] was larger than 0.25 microM. The mean slope of the linear regression between [O(2)Hb] and [HHb] was -3.93 +/- 0.31 (SE). The patterns of the [O(2)Hb] and [HHb] traces over the motor cortex looked different. The [O(2)Hb] reached its maximum change a few seconds before the [HHb] reached its minimum. This was confirmed by the linear regression analysis (r(2) > 0.8 in none of 40 locations). In 20 locations the change in [O(2)Hb] was larger than 0.25 microM. The mean slope of the regression line was -1.76 +/- 0.20, which is significantly higher than that in the motor cortex (P < 0.0000001). Patterns of [O(2)Hb] and [HHb] differ among cortex areas. This implies that the regulation of perfusion in the visual cortex is different from that in the motor cortex. There is evidence that the CMRO(2) increases substantially in the visual cortex, while this is not the case for the motor cortex.