Abdominal muscle contractions drive brain motion in awake mice via vertebral venous plexus
Updated
Updated · Nature.com · Apr 27
Abdominal muscle contractions drive brain motion in awake mice via vertebral venous plexus
2 articles · Updated · Nature.com · Apr 27
Using high-speed two-photon microscopy, researchers tracked brain movement in 24 head-fixed Swiss Webster mice, linking motion to abdominal muscle contractions rather than respiration or heartbeat.
The study identified a hydraulic connection through the vertebral venous plexus, confirmed by microCT imaging, allowing abdominal pressure to influence brain position and drive interstitial fluid flow out of the brain.
Simulations suggest this motion-induced fluid flow opposes glymphatic flow during sleep, indicating mechanical coupling between abdomen and brain may regulate waste clearance and internal state signaling in mammals.
Can the high abdominal pressure in obesity disrupt this brain-cleaning pump?
If movement squeezes fluid out of the brain, how does it get refilled?
Beyond exercise, do daily actions like laughing or coughing also 'wash' our brains?
Do practices like yoga offer unique brain-cleaning benefits through core control?
Is this brain-cleaning mechanism as effective in older adults as in the young?
How does weightlessness in space affect this newly discovered cleaning system?