Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Oct;151(2):139-165.
doi: 10.1111/jnc.14829. Epub 2019 Sep 10.

The energetic brain - A review from students to students

Melina Paula Bordone  1 , Mootaz M Salman  2 , Haley E Titus  3 , Elham Amini  4 , Jens V Andersen  5 , Barnali Chakraborti  6 , Artem V Diuba  7 , Tatsiana G Dubouskaya  8 , Eric Ehrke  9 , Andiara Espindola de Freitas  10 , Guilherme Braga de Freitas  11 , Rafaella A Gonçalves  12 , Deepali Gupta  13 , Richa Gupta  14 , Sharon R Ha  15 , Isabel A Hemming  16   17 , Minal Jaggar  18 , Emil Jakobsen  5 , Punita Kumari  19 , Navya Lakkappa  20 , Ashley P L Marsh  21 , Jessica Mitlöhner  22 , Yuki Ogawa  23 , Ramesh Kumar Paidi  24 , Felipe C Ribeiro  25 , Ahmad Salamian  26 , Suraiya Saleem  24 , Sorabh Sharma  27 , Joana M Silva  28 , Shripriya Singh  14 , Kunjbihari Sulakhiya  29 , Tesfaye Wolde Tefera  30 , Behnam Vafadari  31 , Anuradha Yadav  14 , Reiji Yamazaki  32   33 , Constanze I Seidenbecher  22   33
Affiliations
Free article
Review

The energetic brain - A review from students to students

Melina Paula Bordone et al. J Neurochem. 2019 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

The past 20 years have resulted in unprecedented progress in understanding brain energy metabolism and its role in health and disease. In this review, which was initiated at the 14th International Society for Neurochemistry Advanced School, we address the basic concepts of brain energy metabolism and approach the question of why the brain has high energy expenditure. Our review illustrates that the vertebrate brain has a high need for energy because of the high number of neurons and the need to maintain a delicate interplay between energy metabolism, neurotransmission, and plasticity. Disturbances to the energetic balance, to mitochondria quality control or to glia-neuron metabolic interaction may lead to brain circuit malfunction or even severe disorders of the CNS. We cover neuronal energy consumption in neural transmission and basic ('housekeeping') cellular processes. Additionally, we describe the most common (glucose) and alternative sources of energy namely glutamate, lactate, ketone bodies, and medium chain fatty acids. We discuss the multifaceted role of non-neuronal cells in the transport of energy substrates from circulation (pericytes and astrocytes) and in the supply (astrocytes and microglia) and usage of different energy fuels. Finally, we address pathological consequences of disrupted energy homeostasis in the CNS.

Keywords: ANLS hypothesis; energy homeostasis; metabolism; neurometabolic coupling; neuronal energetic cost; synapse.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aiello L. C. and Wheeler P. (1995) The expensive-tissue hypothesis: the brain and the digestive system in human and primate evolution. Curr. Anthropol. 36, 199-221.
    1. Alle H., Roth A. and Geiger J. R. (2009) Energy-efficient action potentials in hippocampal mossy fibers. Science 325, 1405-1408.
    1. Allt G. and Lawrenson J. (2001) Pericytes: cell biology and pathology. Cells Tissues Organs 169, 1-11.
    1. Amiry-Moghaddam M. and Ottersen O. P. (2003) The molecular basis of water transport in the brain. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 4, 991-1001.
    1. Andersen J. V., Christensen S. K., Nissen J. D. and Waagepetersen H. S. (2017a) Improved cerebral energetics and ketone body metabolism in db/db mice. J. Cereb. Blood Flow Metab. 37, 1137-1147.

Publication types