Blood flow in the human cerebral cortex: Large-scale pial vascularization and 1D simulation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Computational Fluid Dynamics

Background:

• Cerebral circulation is vital for diagnosing brain conditions, but organ-scale blood flow simulations are limited.
• Understanding hemodynamics in the cerebral cortex is essential for developing patient-oriented therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a computational framework for modeling extensive human cerebral cortex vascular networks.
• To conduct pulsatile blood flow simulations in these networks under normotensive and hypertensive conditions.

Main Methods:

• A parallelized adaptive constrained constructive optimization algorithm was used to generate a patient-specific pial vascular network.
• The network was integrated with the Anatomically-Detailed Arterial Network (ADAN) model for 1D blood flow simulations.
• Simulations were performed under both normotensive and hypertensive conditions, analyzing hemodynamic parameters.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive pial vascular network with over 75,000 vessels was constructed for the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral territories.
• Viscoelastic dissipation was identified as crucial for characterizing pial circulation hemodynamics.
• Significant regional pressure gradients and altered pulsatility indices were observed under hypertension, differing from normotensive states.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework enables unique characterization of hemodynamics in the human cerebral cortex's pial vascular network.
• This approach facilitates research into microcirculation, hemodynamics-neural function links, and their roles in neurological conditions.
• The findings pave the way for advancements in understanding and treating conditions like stroke and dementia.