Local and Global Contributions to Hemodynamic Activity in Mouse Cortex

Imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging seek to estimate neural signals in local brain regions through measurements of hemodynamic activity, but what is the significance of the large vascular fluctuations that accompany this activity, and what impact do these fluctuations have on estimates of neural signals? In this podcast, Editor-in-Chief Bill Yates (University of Pittsburgh) and content expert Aniruddha Das (Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons) join authors Andrea Pisauro (University of Glasgow) and Matteo Carandini (University College London) in an engaging discussion about their use of optical imaging in visual cortex of awake mice to characterize these vascular fluctuations. Are these fluctuations just noise, or do they actually reflect variations in the brain state? Listen and find out.

Local and global contributions to hemodynamic activity in mouse cortex
M. Andrea Pisauro, Andrea Benucci, Matteo Carandini
Journal of Neurophysiology, published online March 16, 2016. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00125.2016.