Autonomic arousals contribute to brain fluid pulsations during sleep

During sleep, slow waves of neuro-electrical activity engulf the human brain and aid in the consolidation of memories. Recent research suggests that these slow waves may also promote brain health by facilitating the removal of metabolic waste, possibly by orchestrating the pulsatile flow of cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) through local neural control over vascular tone. To investigate the role of slow waves in the generation of CSF pulsations, we analyzed functional MRI data obtained across the full sleep-wake cycle and during a respiratory task during wakefulness. This revealed a novel generating mechanism that relies on the autonomic regulation of cerebral vascular tone without requiring slow electrocortical activity or even sleep. Therefore, the role of CSF pulsations in brain waste clearance may, in part, depend on proper autoregulatory control of cerebral blood flow.