Hélène Girouard

Full Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Physiology
University of Montreal

Hélène Girouard is a full professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology of the Montreal's University Faculty of Medicine.

She directs the laboratory of cerebrovascular pharmacology.

The laboratory is interested in the control mechanisms of cerebral circulation and in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the neurovascular coupling (CNV) in a healthy, aged or pathological organism. The CNV is composed of a control mechanism of cerebral homeostasis by increasing blood flow after a synaptic neuronal activity to satisfy the glucose and oxygen needs of neurons. Even though this phenomenon has been investigated for more than 100 years, the mechanisms by which synaptic neuronal activity is translated by a vasodilatation is still not well understood. The fundamental research of the CNV forms the basis of modern neuroimaging and its understanding could explain the results observed in cerebral imaging and allow the diagnosis of certain neuropathologies. Additionally, these neurovascular functions can worsen certain conditions such as aging, Alzheimer's, migraine, hypertension and strokes.

Technical approaches:

  • Cerebrovascular pharmacology in vivo (skull window) and in vitro (skull slices and isolated vessels)
  • Measurement of cerebral blood in vivo with the help of a Doppler laser probe
  • Multiphoton microscopy in vivo and in vitro
  • Vascular reactivity on isolated arteries
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Molecular biology

This content has been updated on 25 July 2023 at 0 h 26 min.