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Neurovasculature

The stop and go of glymphatic flow

Nature Neuroscience volume 26, pages 924–925 (2023)Cite this article

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A study by Holstein-Rønsbo, Gan et al. published in this issue of Nature Neuroscience adds another dimension to the ‘glymphatic’ story — the role of functional hyperemia facilitating perivascular flow of cerebrospinal fluid along pial arteries.

Unlike the rest of the body, the brain lacks an orderly lymphatic system. On the macroscopic scale, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is produced by the choroid plexus in the cerebral ventricles, exits the fourth ventricle through the cisterna magna into the subarachnoid space. From there, it finds its way through the brain tissue, clearing out metabolic waste products and secreted proteins. Eventually, interstitial fluid (ISF) carrying unwanted solutes reemerges at the brain surface and drains into the superior sagittal sinus and other structures. The underlying microscopic mechanisms of fluid transport, however, remain unclear.

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Fig. 1: Perivascular flow and arterial dilation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Kıvılcım Kılıç & Anna Devor

  2. Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA

    Anna Devor

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  1. Kıvılcım Kılıç
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  2. Anna Devor
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Correspondence to Anna Devor.

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Competing interests

A.D. is stepping onto the external advisory board for M. Nedergaard’s U19 BRAIN Initiative project starting in September 2023.

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Kılıç, K., Devor, A. The stop and go of glymphatic flow. Nat Neurosci 26, 924–925 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01344-1

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