Localized Cooling of the Central Nervous System

Abstract

T HE effect of generalized body cooling on the central nervous system has been under investigation since the introduction of hypothermia as a neurosurgical adjunct, s Neurophysiologic studies have shown modifications in the function of the central nervous system during generalized body cooling. 19 Detailed analysis and interpretations, however, were difficult since all systems of organs were involved equally in the cooling process. Localized cooling confined to a discrete structure of the central nervous system would seem desirable experimentally from several points of view. Reversible or nonpermanent interruption of brain function could be produced with moderate cooling and the effects could be confined to circumscribed regions. For example, Koizumi et al. 16-1s made good use of such a technique in an investigation of the spinal cord, but the extension of that technique to the brain did not seem feasible. The development of a slender refrigeration probe, cooling only at its tip, 2a which could be placed stereotactically to selectively cool small regions of the central nervous system has re-opened this problem to investigation. One of the purposes of the present s tudy is to explore the influence of temperature on mechanisms of intracerebral electrophysio-