Cerebral Blood Flow: An Important Feature of the Brain

This chapter describes what cerebral blood flow is. Cerebral blood flow supplies oxygen and nutrients to the brain. The brain consumes approximately 20 times more oxygen than any other part of the body, and therefore it is vulnerable to oxygen shortage. To feed the brain’s greed for oxygen is the most important role of cerebral blood flow. The cerebral blood flow does not only supply oxygen and nutrients but also removes waste produced during brain function. The blood vessels and cerebral blood flow have been neglected by neuroscientists as part of the neurological system. Rather, they treat them as infrastructure for the brain to survive. The cerebral blood flow is spatially and temporarily adjusted to the regional demands of the brain. Global and local cerebral blood flow is precisely regulated during neuronal activity even for pathological and aged brains. Neuroscientists only began to recognize the importance of the circulation system after endogenous optical signals were discovered. The vascular system is also very sensitive to traumatic events.