Microcirculatory dysfunction precedes changes in evoked potentials in endotoxin-induced sepsis syndrome in rats

Background: Somatosensory evoked potentials are early indicators of septic encephalopathy, whereas in many other organs microcirculatory failure was shown to precede organ dysfunction. To assess the role of microcirculatory failure in the brain we assessed activation-flow coupling in a rat model of endotoxic shock. Material and Methods: Chloralose-anesthetized rats (n=10) were subjected to electric forepaw stimulation. Over the somatosensory cortex electrical activity and hemodynamic responses were recorded simultaneously with surface electrodes and laser Doppler flowmetry. After baseline recordings 1mg/kg or 5m…