Effect of acute electrode placement on regional CBF in the gerbil: a comparison of blood flow measured by hydrogen clearance, [3H]nicotine, and [14C]iodoantipyrine techniques.

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was compared in the gerbil by means of [3H]nicotine, [14C]-iodoantipyrine, and hydrogen clearance techniques. In agreement with other studies, nicotine and iodoantipyrine methods gave virtually identical results. With these methods, it was observed that a reduction in blood flow occurred shortly after insertion of an electrode into the striatum for hydrogen clearance measurement, affecting rCBF throughout the impaled hemisphere. The reduction was moderate (30%) in the striatum and hippocampus, but much greater (70%) in cortical regions. Identical deficits were observed following brief penetrations involving only cortex. Following chronic electrode placement in the striatum, regional blood flow values obtained with [3H]nicotine returned to the control range within 6 h. Blood flow estimates obtained in the striatum with the implanted electrode increased with a similar time course, so that by 6-24 h, hydrogen clearance gave values indistinguishable from control values obtained with [3H]nicotine. These results clearly demonstrate that reduction of CBF subsequent to electrode placement can account for the low values frequently obtained with the hydrogen clearance method in small animals. The distribution of the deficit and the time course of its recovery are similar to blood flow changes associated with spreading depression. While mechanisms responsible for this effect remain to be fully identified, chronic implantation is a practical solution that allows the continued use of hydrogen clearance as a convenient method for repeated measurement of blood flow in the same animal.