Depth-dependent contributions of various vascular zones to cerebral autoregulation and functional hyperemia: An in-silico analysis
Fig 2
Quantitative analysis of sphincter density and TZ vessel diameters in mouse brain vasculature,
(a) illustrates the presence of sphincters at PA-TZ bifurcation points. A sphincter is shown at the left bifurcation point, characterized by a low daughter-to-parent diameter ratio. In contrast, the right bifurcation point, with a larger daughter-to-parent diameter ratio, has no sphincter, (b) statistics of sphincter formation as a function of the daughter-to-parent diameter ratio at the PA bifurcation points across various cortical depths. The analysis highlights a close correlation between the cortical depth and the likelihood of sphincter formation at PA-TZ bifurcation points, (c) shows an increase in the diameter of TZ vessels as arterioles penetrate deeper into the brain tissue. Vessels are categorized by their order of bifurcation: the “1st-order” TZ vessels emerge directly from the parent PA, while the “2nd-order” TZ vessels are formed from the division of the 1st-order TZ vessels.