Recurring episodes of spreading depression are spontaneously elicited by an intracerebral hemorrhage in the swine.

Intracranial bleeding damages the surrounding tissue in a complex fashion that involves contamination by blood-borne products and loss of ionic homeostasis. We used electrophysiological techniques to examine the functional changes in the developing intracerebral bleed and in surrounding regions using an in vivo swine model. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) was induced by collagenase injection into the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Somatic evoked potential (SEP) elicited by electrical stimulation of the contralateral snout as well as changes in DC-coupled potential were monitored in the SI from the time of collagenase injection in order to measure the effects of ICH. The SEP decreased in amplitude within minutes of the intracerebral injection. Its short-latency component was abolished within the first hour after collagenase injection without any sign of recovery for the duration of the experiment. As the SEP started decreasing in amplitude, we observed spontaneous, recurring episodes of cortical spreading depression (SD) as early as 20 min post-injection. The timing of SDs in SI is consistent with our interpretation that SDs were initially generated at multiple sites adjacent to the lesion core and propagated into the surrounding area. With time, SD became less frequent near the injection site, shifting to more distant electrodes in the surrounding area. Our results indicate that ICH leads to the reduction in SEP amplitude and induces spontaneous episodes of SD. Loss of ionic homeostasis is most likely the physiological basis for the SEP change and for the induction of SD. Recurring SD spontaneously generated in experimental ICH needs further study in humans with ICH.