Neurovascular Coupling Response Dysfunction after Ischemic Stroke: The Possible Mechanism in Cognition Impairment

Abstract

One of the cardinal aspects of post-ischemic stroke disabilities is cognitive decline correlated with higher long-term mortality rate. There are various hypotheses about cognition impairment after ischemic stroke, but lately, neurovascular coupling (NVC) response impairment and neurovascular unit (NVU) disruption have been proposed as causes for cognitive decline. The NVC mechanism, a feature of the brain’s intrinsic micro circulation, regulates local cerebral blood flow (CBF) in accordance with the underlying neuronal activity. It seems that, cerebral ischemia triggers several molecular and cellular cascades including excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption which eventually leads to NVU malfunction and NVC response impairment which results in cognitive dysfunction in many stroke patients. This review tries to focus on the factors involved in NVC response that might affect cognition after ischemic stroke.