[Organization of the process of autoregulation of cerebral blood flow]

Continuous recording of local blood flow in the cat cerebral cortex (the technique of electrochemical generation of hydrogen in brain tissue) revealed dynamic characteristics of autoregulation of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) during changes in the systemic arterial blood pressure. The autoregulation has a three-component character due to joint functioning of the mechanisms of myogenic, neurogenic and metabolic nature. The myogenic mechanism seems to protect the vascular bed of the brain from the impact of sharp changes in the intravascular pressure and is but indirectly involved in the CBF regulation, the latter being accomplished mainly by the hierarchically interacting nervous and metabolic mechanisms.