Key Points
- To review the mechanisms of human neurovascular coupling, propose standardized assessment guidelines, and introduce open-source automated software for analyzing cerebral blood flow dynamics.
- Synthesized current mechanistic findings and methodological approaches for evaluating human neurovascular coupling in healthy and diseased states.
- Developed and validated automated analysis software designed to aggregate repetitive trials into single contours, normalize metrics against arterial blood gas fluctuations, and extract hemodynamic parameters.
- Established comprehensive methodological guidelines aimed at standardizing human neurovascular coupling testing protocols across clinical and research environments.
- Demonstrated an open-access analytical tool capable of quantifying vascular conductance, pulsatility, critical closing pressure, and response timing parameters.
- Provided a framework to correct neurovascular metrics for dynamic changes in arterial blood gases to prevent misinterpretation of the hyperemic response.
Structured PICO
PPopulationHumans (focus on neurovascular coupling assessment)
This review provides new guidelines and automated software to standardize the assessment of neurovascular coupling in humans, aiming to improve clinical management and physiological understanding.