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
. 2020 Mar;23(2):68-75.
doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000634.

The fat brain

Jorge Montesinos  1 , Cristina Guardia-Laguarta, Estela Area-Gomez
Affiliations
Review

The fat brain

Jorge Montesinos et al. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose of review: The purpose of this brief review is to gain an understanding on the multiple roles that lipids exert on the brain, and to highlight new ideas in the impact of lipid homeostasis in the regulation of synaptic transmission.

Recent findings: Recent data underline the crucial function of lipid homeostasis in maintaining neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. Moreover, new advances in analytical approaches to study lipid classes and species is opening a new door to understand and monitor how alterations in lipid pathways could shed new light into the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration.

Summary: Lipids are one of the most essential elements of the brain. However, our understanding of the role of lipids within the central nervous system is still largely unknown. Identifying the molecular mechanism (s) by which lipids can regulate neuronal transmission represents the next frontier in neuroscience, and a new challenge in our understanding of the brain and the mechanism(s) behind neurological disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Watson H. Biological membranes. Essays Biochem 2015; 59:43–69.
    1. Sezgin E, Levental I, Mayor S, Eggeling C. The mystery of membrane organization: composition, regulation and roles of lipid rafts. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2017; 18:361–374.
    1. Lingwood D, Simons K. Lipid rafts as a membrane-organizing principle. Science 2010; 327:46–50.
    1. Aureli M, Grassi S, Prioni S, et al. Lipid membrane domains in the brain. Biochim Biophys Acta 2015; 1851:1006–1016.
    1. Sonnino S, Aureli M, Mauri L, et al. Membrane lipid domains in the nervous system. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed) 2015; 20:280–302.

Publication types