Does mental activity change the oxidative metabolism of the brain?
Previous studies have shown that sensory stimulation and voluntary motor activity increase regional cerebral glucose consumption and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The present study had 3 purposes: (1) to examine whether pure mental activity changed the oxidative metabolism of the brain and, if so, (2) to examine which anatomical structures were participating in the mental activity; and to examine whether there was any coupling of the rCBF to the physiological changes in the regional cerebral oxidative metabolism (rCMRO2). With a positron-emission tomograph (PET), we measured the rCMRO2, rCBF, and regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) in independent sessions lasting 100 sec each. A dynamic method was used for the measurement of rCMRO2. The rCMRO2, rCBF, and rCBV were measured in 2 different states in 10 young, healthy volunteers: at rest and when visually imagining a specific route in familiar surroundings. The rCBF at rest was linearly correlated to the rCMRO2: rCBF (in ml/100 g
