Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a noninvasive method to measure the rhythmic pulsations of the brain’s smallest blood vessels, which was impossible until now in live human brains. In a study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research , the new technique revealed a link between an increase in pulsations in the brain’s microvessels and signs of aging and neurodegeneration, especially in deep white matter regions.

“Arterial pulsation is like the brain’s natural pump, helping to move fluids and clear waste,” said Danny J. J. Wang, PhD, professor of neurology and radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and senior author of the study. “Our new method allows us to see, for the first time in people, how the volumes of those tiny blood ves

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