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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Analyzing the Size, Shape, and Directionality of Networks of Coupled Astrocytes
Published on: October 4, 2018
Origins of the BOLD changes due to synaptic activity at astrocytes abutting arteriolar smooth muscle
M R Bennett1, L Farnell, W G Gibson
1The Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. maxb@physiol.usyd.edu.au
Abstract:
We have recently provided a detailed model that links glutamatergic synaptic activity to volume and blood flow changes in nearby arterioles [Bennett, M.R., Farnell, L., Gibson, W.G., 2008. Origin of blood volume change due to glutamatergic synaptic activity at astrocytes abutting on arteriolar smooth muscle cells. J. Theor. Biol. 250, 172-185]. This neurovascular coupling model is used in the present work to predict changes in deoxyhemoglobin (Hbr) in capillaries, arterioles, venules and veins due to glutamatergic synaptic activity and hence the changes in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging. The model provides a quantitative account of Hbr changes observed in each of the vascular compartments following stimulation of somatosensory cortex and visual cortex and of the BOLD signal following stimulation of motor and visual cortex.
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