Association of blood pressure metrics with amplitudes of physiological brain pulsations

Motivation: Vascular factors, like blood pressure, play a role in brain disorders, but their pathological mechanisms are still unknown. Goal(s): The study's objective was to examine the impact of blood pressure (systole/diastole) on the physiological pulsations assessed through ultrafast resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Approach: We quantified brain pulsation amplitudes with the ALFF method and employed multiple linear regression to model the influence of blood pressure metrics on very low-frequency, respiratory, and cardiovascular pulsations. Results: Systolic blood pressure positively correlated with vasomotor pulsation amplitudes, while both systolic and diastolic pressures were positively correlated with cardiovascular pulsation amplitudes. Impact: Precise knowledge regarding the influence of blood pressure on brain pulsations plays a pivotal role in future developments of treatments, particularly in conditions like Alzheimer's disease, where blood pressure is a significant risk factor affecting cerebral function.