Spinal cord blood flow changes during the sleep-wake cycle in rat

Regional spinal cord blood flow was measured in rats during the sleep-wake cycle with the use of radioactive microspheres. Spinal cord blood flow decreases from wakefulness to quiet (synchronized) sleep while increasing in active (desynchronized) sleep. Blood-flow changes depend on changes in vascular resistance whose mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Blood-gas tension or mean arterial pressure, however, do not play a relevant causal role. © 1993.