Spatiotemporal dynamics of red blood cells in capillaries in layer I of the cerebral cortex and changes in arterial diameter during cortical spreading depression and response to hypercapnia in anesthetized mice.

Taken together with our previous findings, these simultaneous measurements of red blood cell velocity in multiple capillaries, arterial diameter and regional cerebral blood flow support the idea that red blood cell flow might be altered independently, at least in part, from arterial regulation, that neuro-capillary coupling plays a role in rapidly meeting local neural demand.