Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion and Impaired Neuronal Function in Rats

emia have shown that reductions in cerebral blood flow of up to 50 % do not lead to infarction or alterations in neuronal electric activity. Little is known about the effects of chronic reductions in cerebral blood flow. The purpose of this study was to evaluate neuronal electrophysiological function in brain that had been subjected to a chronic reduction of cerebral blood flow of less than 50%. Based on existing knowledge of thresholds of cerebral ischemia, neuronal electrophysiological function should be unaffected by hypo-perfusion of this magnitude. Methods An arteriovenous fistula model in the rat was used to induce chronic cerebral hypoperfusion with reductions of cerebral blood flow of 25 % to 50 % as measured previously by 14C-labeled autoradiography. Using in vitro electrophysiologi-cal brain slice techniques, long-term potentiation in hippocam