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Abstract
<p class="first" id="P1">The concept of neurovascular unit (NVU), formalized at the
2001 Stroke Progress Review
Group meeting of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, emphasizes
the intimate relationship between the brain and its vessels. Since then, the NVU has
attracted the interest of the neuroscience community resulting in considerable advances
in the field. Here the current state-of-knowledge of the NVU will be assessed, focusing
on one of its most vital roles: the coupling between neural activity and blood flow.
The evidence supports a conceptual shift in the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling,
from a unidimensional process involving neuronal-astrocytic signaling to local blood
vessels, to a multidimensional one in which mediators released from multiple cells
engage distinct signaling pathways and effector systems across the entire cerebrovascular
network in a highly orchestrated manner. The recently appreciated NVU dysfunction
in neurodegenerative diseases, although still poorly understood, supports emerging
concepts that maintaining neurovascular health promotes brain health.
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