Nonuniform brain blood flow response to hypoxia in unanesthetized cats

In seven unanesthetized cats, radiolabeled microspheres were used to determine regional brain blood flow (rBBF) to the medulla-pons (M-P), midbrain-thalamus (M-T), cerebellum (Cb), and cortex (Cx) during three conditions: 1) control [arterial O2 tension (PaO2) = 81 Torr, arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2) = 26 Torr]; 2) hypocapnic hypoxia (PaO2 = 39 Torr, PaCO2 = 22 Torr); and 3) isocapnic hypoxia (PaO2 = 47 Torr, PaCO2 = 26 Torr). Hypoxia increased blood flow significantly more in the caudal brain stem (M-P) than in the Cx (P less than 0.05) during both hypocapnic hypoxia (M-P/Cx: +33/ +17 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) and isocapnic hypoxia (M-P/Cx: +13/ -2 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1). Since sympathetic innervation is greater anatomically to rostral than to caudal vessels, we examined the rBBF response to hypocapnic hypoxia in seven additional cats after unilateral superior cervical gangliectomy. All seven cats had a reduction in the cortical-to-caudal brain stem trend on the denervated side of the brain (M-P/Cx: +27/+28 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) compared with the intact side of the brain (M-P/Cx: +34/+24 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) owing to both increases in Cx and decreases in M-P flows. We conclude that in unanesthetized cats hypoxia causes a greater increase in the caudal brain stem compared with cortical blood flow, and this differential response is related to modulation by the sympathetic nervous system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)