Photoperiod and Brain Blood Flow: Changing Day Length to Alter Cerebral Perfusion

[Jeremy_Borniger]

Material below summarizes the article, Photoperiodic Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow in White-footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus), published on July 13, 2016 in eNeuro and authored by Jeremy C. Borniger, Seth Teplitsky, Surya Gnyawali, Randy J Nelson, and Cameron Rink.

Animals that live in nontropical climates need to adjust their behavior and physiology throughout the year to survive in the face of a cyclically changing environment. To save energy, organisms reroute resources to necessary functions in anticipation of unfavorable conditions. Many small animals, for example, turn off reproduction in favor of thermogenesis during the harsh winter months to ensure survival into the next breeding season. Because the brain is an energetically expensive organ, any reduction in size or blood flow to this organ would confer significant energy savings, allowing individuals to invest resources into vital functions such as immunity or keeping warm.

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