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Science 14 February 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5609, pp. 1023 - 1024
DOI: 10.1126/science.1082403
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Perspectives

NEUROSCIENCE:
A Measured Look at Neuronal Oxygen Consumption

John E. W. Mayhew

Do activated neurons in the brain increase their metabolic activity and consume more oxygen? In his Perspective, Mayhew discusses new work (Thompson et al.) demonstrating that local tissue oxygen content is briefly reduced following stimulation of the cat visual cortex. This implies that activated neurons do increase their consumption of oxygen. Changes in blood oxygenation are the primary intrinsic signals underlying BOLD fMRI imaging of brain activity.

The author is in the Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TP, UK. E-mail: j.e.mayhew{at}shef.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)