Responses to Complete Ischemia of the Partial Ischemic Gerbil Brain

The effects of partial ischemia (unilateral carotid artery occlusion) on the metabolic and electrical responses to decapitation were studied in the awake anesthetized gerbils’ brains. The gerbil was connected to the two-channel fluorometer/reflectometer by flexible light guides implanted above the two hemispheres of the brain. The results show that (1) the metabolic rate as measured by this present technique is lower in the gerbil than in the rat and (2) the metabolic rate of the ischemic hemisphere is lower as compared to that of the normoxic contralateral hemisphere.