Metabolic sensing neurons and metabolism
-
1
VA Medical Center, Neurology Service, United States
-
2
NJ Medical School, Department of Neurology and Neurosciences, United States
Distinct groups of specialized metabolic sensing neurons that monitor and regulate energy homeostasis are organized in a distributed network connecting scattered in specific sites throughout the brain. Unlike the vast majority of neurons that utilize glucose only as their primary energy source, these metabolic sensing neurons also utilize peripherally-generated substrates such as glucose and long chain fatty acids and hormones such as leptin and insulin as signaling molecules to alter their membrane potential and activity. They also respond to and integrate hard-wired neural signals from metabolic sensing elements in the hepatic portal vein, gastrointestinal tract and carotid body to monitor ongoing metabolic activity. Such neurons include neuropeptide Y/agouti-related peptide and proopiomelanocortin neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, up to 30% of neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus and lateral hypothalamic melanin concentrating hormone and orexin/hypocretin neurons. These neurons monitor changes in ambient brain levels of glucose and fatty acids through specialized signals generated during their transport and/or intracellular metabolism. Hormones from the periphery and transmitters and peptides released from peripheral neural afferents are sensed via receptors. The summated signals of all these inputs monitor the minute to minute, hourly and diurnal changes in peripheral metabolism. The output of the distributed network of these neurons alters metabolism by activation of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, as well as central pathways involved in reward, cognition and motor pattern generation. This give and take between the brain and periphery represents the dialogue that allows the brain to monitor and control the internal and external events that regulate overall energy homeostasis. At its heart, this interplay represents the means by which the Selfish Brain ensures itself a continuous source of energy from the periphery.
Conference:
2nd Selfish Brain Conference
New research on the neurobiology of ingestive behaviour, 23554 Luebeck, Germany, 27 May - 28 May, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Talks
Citation:
Levin
BE
(2010). Metabolic sensing neurons and metabolism.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
2nd Selfish Brain Conference
New research on the neurobiology of ingestive behaviour.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.08.00013
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
12 Apr 2010;
Published Online:
12 Apr 2010.
*
Correspondence:
Barry E Levin, VA Medical Center, Neurology Service, East Orange, United States, levin@umdnj.edu