The assessment of neurovascular coupling with the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination: a functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic study

Lucy C. Beishon*, Claire A.L. Williams, Ronney B. Panerai, Thompson G. Robinson, Victoria J. Haunton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

<jats:p> Cerebrovascular dysfunction occurs early in dementia and can be identified by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Few studies have examined cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) responses to a detailed cognitive battery. This study aimed to characterize all CBFv responses, and the effect of hemispheric dominance, to the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III) in healthy volunteers. Forty volunteers underwent continuous bilateral TCD, beat-to-beat blood pressure (MAP; Finapres), heart rate (HR; electrocardiogram), and end-tidal CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> (ETCO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>; capnography) monitoring. After a 5-min baseline period, all tasks from the ACE-III were performed in 3 sections (A: attention, fluency, memory; B: language; C: visuospatial, memory). Data are population mean normalized percentage (PM%) change from a 20-s baseline period before task initiation. Forty bilateral data sets were obtained (27 women, 37 right-hand dominant). All paradigms produced a sharp increase in CBFv in both dominant (PM% range: 3.29 to 9.70%) and nondominant (PM% range: 4.34 to 11.63%) hemispheres at task initiation, with associated increases in MAP (PM% range: 3.06 to 16.04%). ETCO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> did not differ significantly at task initiation (PM% range: −1.1 to 2.4%, P &gt; 0.05). HR differed significantly across A and C tasks at initiation (PM% range: −1.1 to 2.4%, P &lt; 0.05), but not B tasks. In conclusion, all tasks resulted in increases in CBFv, differing significantly between paradigms. These results require further investigation in a cognitively impaired population. </jats:p><jats:p> NEW &amp; NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to provide a normative data set of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) responses to a complete cognitive assessment (Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination, ACE-III) in a large sample ( n = 40) of healthy volunteers. All tasks produced peak and sustained increases in CBFv to different extents. The ACE-III is a feasible tool to assess neurovascular coupling with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. These data can be used to inform the most appropriate cognitive task to elicit CBFv responses for future studies. </jats:p>
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1084-1094
Number of pages0
JournalJournal of Neurophysiology
Volume119
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2018

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The assessment of neurovascular coupling with the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination: a functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonographic study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this