Phase-contrast MRI analysis of cerebral blood and CSF flow dynamic interactions

Our results confirmed that CSF does not completely and instantaneously balance cerebral blood expansion during the cardiac cycle. Nevertheless, the resting volume is very small compared to the total intracranial volume. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate these findings using cerebral blood flow measured intracranially below the Circle of Willis. Additionally, our findings show that cerebral arterial and venous flow dynamic measurements during the cardiac cycle obtained by PC-MRI at the intracranial plane strongly correlate with CSF oscillations measured in the spinal canal. Therefore, the intracranial vascular plane is more relevant for analyzing cerebral blood and CSF interactions during the cardiac cycle compared to measurements taken at the cervical vascular level.