Publications in Scientific Journals:
M. Kallab, N. Hommer, B. Tan, M. Pfister, A. Schlatter, R.M. Werkmeister, J. Chua, D. Schmidl, L. Schmetterer, G. Garhöfer:
"Plexus-specific effect of flicker-light stimulation on the retinal microvasculature assessed with optical coherence tomography angiography";
American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology,
320
(2021),
1;
H23
- H28.
English abstract:
In neural tissues, the coupling between neural activity and blood flow is a physiological key principle in blood flow regulation. We used optical coherence tomography angiography to investigate stimulus-evoked hemodynamic responses in different micro- vascular layers of the human retina. Twenty-two healthy subjects were included. Vessel density before and during light stimula- tion was measured using optical coherence tomography angiography and assessed for the superficial, intermediate, and deep capillary plexus of the retinal circulation. Volumetric blood flow was measured using a custom-built Doppler optical coherence tomography system. Our results show that flicker stimulation induced a significant increase in the vessel density of þ 9.9 ± 6.7% in the superficial capillary plexus, þ 6.6 ± 1.7% in the intermediate capillary plexus, and þ 4.9 ± 2.3% in the deep capillary plexus. The hyperemic response of the superficial capillary plexus was significantly higher compared to the intermediate capillary plexus (P = 0.02) and deep capillary plexus (P = 0.002). Volumetric retinal blood flow increased by þ39.9±34.9% in arteries and by þ 29.8 ± 16.8% in veins. In conclusion, we showed a strong increase in the retinal microvascular density in response to light stim- ulation, with the most pronounced effect in the superficial capillary plexus. This is compatible with the hypothesis that the micro- vasculature exerts an important function in mediating functional hyperemia in humans.
Keywords:
healthy subjects; neurovascular coupling; optical coherence tomography angiography; retinal blood flow
"Official" electronic version of the publication (accessed through its Digital Object Identifier - DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00495.2020
Electronic version of the publication:
https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/publik_299719.pdf