Pulsed Arterial Spin Labeling of Hypo- And Hyperventilated Mice

Tom Dresselaers¹, Wouter Oosterlinck², Wim Robberecht³, Paul Herijgers², Uwe Himmelreich¹

Arterial spin labeling methods have been widely used to study perfusion of the brain in rats and, to some extent, in mice. To study the cerebral vascular response animals are challenged with gas mixtures to induce hypercapnia or hypoxia. However, in free-breathing animals partial respiratory compensation can not be excluded. Additionally, different respiratory levels have been noted depending on strain or transgenic model or age.We demonstrate in this study how hyper and hypocapnia can be obtained in ventilated mice by adjusting the ventilation rate and tidal volume. CBF was monitored using FAIR-ASL of the brain during this protocol.