Flowing Forward

Mouse brains offer a fascinating avenue to understanding our own neurological function. With striking similarities to human brains, mice serve as invaluable models for deciphering biological processes. By employing innovative techniques like implanting transparent windows into the skulls of mice, scientists can now observe and track various brain cells using fluorescent markers, allowing us to not only shed light on normal brain function, but also help to gain crucial insights into the mechanisms underlying disease. This deeper understanding paves the way for the development of effective therapies.

Despite being only 2% of an adult’s body weight, the brain utilises 20% of the body’s energy, with nutrients supplied by over 500 miles of blood vessels throughout the brain.
The volume of blood supplied to the brain needs to be relatively constant, which becomes challenging throughout daily activities when blood pressure varies dramatically.

Arteries can detect the increase in blood pressure and change their diameter to limit the flow. This is via contracting and relaxing muscle cells in the blood vessel wall to adjust the amount of blood flow to the brain. The degree of muscle contraction is controlled by the amount of charged ions inside the muscle cell. The movement of charged ions from outside to inside the cell (and vice versa) is possible due to specialised proteins called ion channels. These ion channels are in a balancing act, constantly moving ions in and out of the muscle cells to control blood supply to the brain at the correct amount.

For the brain to work properly it relies on a constant blood supply. This is critical to provide brain cells with the energy they need to function. Interruptions to the brains blood supply results in stroke and dementia. Understanding how a good blood supply is maintained and how it can be restored if interrupted is therefore very important for developing new treatments. In this talk I will explain how brain blood flow is controlled, how it can go wrong, and the novel ways our research has found to restore blood flow, and how this might lead to new treatments for stroke and dementia.