Spatial Regulation Control of Oxygen Metabolic Consumption in Mouse Brain

The mammalian brain relies on significant oxygen metabolic consumption to fulfill energy supply, brain function, and neural activity. In this study, in vivo electrochemistry is combined with physiological and ethological analyses to explore oxygen metabolic consumption in an area of the mouse brain that includes parts of the primary somatosensory cortex, primary motor cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. The oxygen levels at different locations of this boundary section are spatially resolved by measuring the electrical current in vivo using ingeniously designed anti-biofouling carbon fiber microelectrodes. The characteristics of the current signals are further interpreted by simultaneously recording the physiological responses of the mice. Additionally, ethological tests are performed to validate the correlation between oxygen levels and mouse behavior. It is found that high-dose caffeine injection can evoke spatial variability in oxygen metabolic consumption between the four neighboring brain regions. It is proposed that the oxygen metabolic consumption in different brain regions is not independent of each other but is subject to spatial regulation control following the rules of "rank of brain region" and "relative distance." Furthermore, as revealed by in vivo wireless electrochemistry and ethological analysis, mice are at risk of neuronal damage from long-term intake of high-dose caffeine.