Fellowship for Yu Shang: Development of Diffuse Optical Spectroscopies for Monitoring Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxygenation in Mouse Stroke Model

The occlusions of bilateral common carotid artery (bi-CCA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) in mice are the popular animal models to investigate transient forebrain ischemia and stroke. The change of cerebral blood flow (CBF) indicates the successful clipping or unclipping of the CCA/MCA, and reflects the reactivity patterns of cerebrovascular vasodilatation, which is associated with neuron protection or injury mechanism in the brain. Measurement of cerebral oxygenation status is also critical since it reflects cerebrovascular reactivity, neuronal activities and cerebral metabolism. Therefore, investigation of cerebral hemodynamics (blood flow and oxygenation) as well as their correlations with pathophysiological consequences has significant implications for clinical stroke management.