Localised Astrocyte Ca2+ Activity Regulate Neurovascular Coupling Responses to Active Sensing.

Localised Astrocyte Ca2+ Activity Regulate Neurovascular Coupling Responses to Active Sensing. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Localised Astrocyte Ca2+ Activity Regulate Neurovascular Coupling Responses to Active Sensing. Barbara Lind, Jakob Stelzner, Aske Krogsgaard, Gabriele Kulkoviene, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4572639/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Neurovascular coupling (NVC) ensures sufficient and targeted blood flow during increased neuronal activity. Astrocytic participation in NVC has long been debated, likely due to the intricacy of the intracellular Ca2+ fluxes and the diversity of their regulatory capacities. As astrocyte signaling changes with brain states, we focused on their involvement in voluntary sensing in freely behaving mice. We used 2-photon microscopy to record cellular and vascular activity in the whisker barrel cortex of awake head-fixed animals. The NVC initiated by volitional whisking in the resting mouse was compared to the whisking preceding locomotion and experimenter-evoked whisker deflections. We developed an analysis method to detect early, subcellular astrocytic activity and found it corresponded with neuronal and vascular responses under all three conditions. After the depletion of noradrenaline (NA), the early astrocytic Ca2+ response to volitional whisking was only moderately reduced and primarily in astrocytic processes closest to the blood vessels. Meanwhile, the dilation of 1st order capillaries was also reduced. Together, these findings demonstrate significant disruptions in the focal regulation of cerebral blood flow, potentially limiting the sustenance of activated neurons. This disruption appeared to translate into behavioral aberrations, as NA-depleted mice exhibited an extended period of exploratory whisking prior to locomotion. Remarkably, NA-depletion did not alter cellular or blood flow responses to locomotion or experimenter-evoked whisking. Our study confirms an astrocytic contribution to NVC, which is relevant during volitional sensing. It also suggests that self-directed sensory processing depends on an appropriate NVC response, which itself depends on NA and astrocyte activity. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Neuro–vascular interactions Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Somatosensory system/Barrel cortex Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Glial biology/Astrocyte Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files VideoV1.mp4 Supplemental Video V1: Detecting whisking. VideoV2.mp4 Supplemental Video V2: Astrocyte Ca2+ and vascular imaging during volitional whisking. VideoV3.mp4 Supplemental Video V3: Neuronal Ca2+ and vascular imaging during volitional whisking. VideoV4.mp4 Supplemental Video V4: Astrocyte Ca2+ and vascular activity during locomotion before and after DSP-4 based depletion of NA release from locus coeruleus. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4572639","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":316516155,"identity":"c1691d2b-1bb1-42fc-bbe4-88edd3ccb9c6","order_by":0,"name":"Barbara 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