Brain oxygen balance under various experimental pathophysiologycal conditions.

Normally, brain tissue copes with negative oxygen balance by increasing cerebral blood flow (CBF). We examined the effects of increasing oxygen demand, by inducing spreading depression (SD) under various oxygen balance states, on brain O2 balance. The Tissue Vitality Monitoring System was used, which enables real time simultaneous in vivo monitoring of CBF, mitochondrial NADH and tissue HbO2 from the same region of the cerebral cortex. SD was induced during normoxia, hypoxia, hyperoxia, ischemia, and in normal and ischemic brain after systemic epinephrine administration. Under normoxia, hyperoxia and ischemia & epinephrine, the compensation of energy demand induced by SD, was carried out by increasing CBF. The higher oxygen delivery under hyperoxia and epinephrine did not change the pattern of recovery from SD as compared to normoxia, whereas in the ischemic and hypoxic brain, the recovery from SD was prolonged, indicating a lake in oxygen delivery. Epinephrine infusion in the ischemic rat, decreased oxyhemoglobin utilization during SD, indicating that tissue oxygen balance improves even under higher oxygen demand induced by SD.