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World J Crit Care Med. Dec 9, 2024; 13(4): 97149
Published online Dec 9, 2024. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v13.i4.97149
Regional dynamic cerebral autoregulation across anterior and posterior circulatory territories: A detailed exploration and its clinical implications
Bahadar S Srichawla, Maria A Garcia-Dominguez
Bahadar S Srichawla, Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, United States
Maria A Garcia-Dominguez, Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA 01655, United States
Author contributions: Srichawla BS contributed to intellectual verification, writing and editing, project leadership; Garcia-Dominguez MA contributed to writing and editing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Bahadar S Srichawla, DO, MS, Staff Physician, Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester, MA 01655, United States. bahadar.srichawla@umassmed.edu
Received: May 24, 2024
Revised: September 24, 2024
Accepted: October 10, 2024
Published online: December 9, 2024
Processing time: 160 Days and 7.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Cerebral autoregulation (CA) maintains stable cerebral blood flow (CBF) despite systemic blood pressure changes. Recent evidence highlights regional CA variations between anterior and posterior circulations. Non-invasive neuromonitoring techniques like transcranial Doppler, transfer function analysis, and near-infrared spectroscopy facilitate dynamic CBF assessment. Studies show robust autoregulation in the anterior circulation but lower capacity in the posterior circulation. Impaired CA in the posterior circulation, especially during acute brain injuries, may result from decreased sympathetic innervation, endothelial dysfunction, increased metabolic demands, and impaired blood-brain barrier integrity. Understanding these mechanisms is vital for improving cerebrovascular disorder management.