Abstract #3275
The effect of cocaine on the rat brain apparent diffusion coefficient, cerebral blood volume and mean arterial blood pressure.
Benveniste H, Yu M, Du C, Ma Y, Forester B
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University
Cocaine can reduce cerebral blood flow as well as perfusion to other body organs. The mechanisms underlying these changes are still not fully understood. We hypothesized that if cocaine induces vasoconstriction and reduces cerebral perfusion the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) could decrease if low (ischemic) perfusion thresholds were reached. The present study examined the effects of an acute cocaine challenge on changes in the rat brain ADC in parallel with measurements of cerebral blood volume (CBV) changes using a newly developed optical system.
