The Neurovascular Unit Coming of Age: A Journey through Neurovascular Coupling in Health and Disease. Review uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • The concept of the neurovascular unit (NVU), formalized at the 2001 Stroke Progress Review Group meeting of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, emphasizes the intimate relationship between the brain and its vessels. Since then, the NVU has attracted the interest of the neuroscience community, resulting in considerable advances in the field. Here the current state of knowledge of the NVU will be assessed, focusing on one of its most vital roles: the coupling between neural activity and blood flow. The evidence supports a conceptual shift in the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling, from a unidimensional process involving neuronal-astrocytic signaling to local blood vessels to a multidimensional one in which mediators released from multiple cells engage distinct signaling pathways and effector systems across the entire cerebrovascular network in a highly orchestrated manner. The recently appreciated NVU dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, although still poorly understood, supports emerging concepts that maintaining neurovascular health promotes brain health.

publication date

  • September 27, 2017

Research

keywords

  • Brain
  • Health
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Neurovascular Coupling

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC5657612

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85031027137

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.030

PubMed ID

  • 28957666

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 96

issue

  • 1