EDITORIAL article
Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Disease Mechanisms
Volume 18 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1676946
This article is part of the Research TopicImaging Brain Network and Brain Energy Metabolism Impairments in Brain DisordersView all 9 articles
Editorial: Imaging Brain Network and Brain Energy Metabolism Impairments in Brain Disorders
Provisionally accepted
- 1Kokuritsu Kenkyu Kaihatsu Hojin Ryoshi Kagaku Gijutsu Kenkyu Kaihatsu Kiko, Chiba, Japan
- 2Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 3Kokuritsu Kenkyu Kaihatsu Hojin Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kenkyujo, Chiyoda, Japan
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The concept of the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS), originally proposed by Pellerin and Magistretti (Pellerin, L., & Magistretti, P. J. 1994), provides a mechanistic framework for understanding how neuronal activity is metabolically coupled to astrocyte-mediated glycolysis. These insights underscore the inseparability of functional and metabolic networks in the brain. Electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that spontaneous BOLD fluctuations in the default mode network (DMN) are closely tied to low-frequency neuronal activity, particularly local field potentials (LFPs) (Logothetis et al., 2001;He et al., 2008;Schölvinck et al., 2010). At the same time, positron emission tomography (PET) studies have shown that DMN regions exhibit elevated aerobic glycolysis (Vaishnavi et al., 2010), a metabolic phenotype largely attributed to astrocytic function. These complementary findings suggest that the DMN arises from a coordinated interplay between neuronal and astrocytic activity, rather than from neural activity alone. Therefore, it is essential to approach brain network and brain energy metabolism as interconnected systems, as exemplified by the contributions in this Research Topic.The articles included in this topic reflect a wide conceptual and methodological range, In summary, these studies highlight the necessity of integrating metabolic and functional imaging perspectives to fully understand brain network organization and dysfunction. This Research Topic, by bridging MRS, rsfMRI, and metabolic theory, represents a timely contribution to this evolving field. We hope these contributions stimulate further dialogue, inspire novel hypotheses, and support future development of multimodal imaging biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Keywords: brain energy metabolism, functional connectivity, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Resting-state fMRI, astrocyte-neuron interactions, Multimodal Imaging
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Takado, Mishkovsky and Tsurugizawa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuhei Takado, Kokuritsu Kenkyu Kaihatsu Hojin Ryoshi Kagaku Gijutsu Kenkyu Kaihatsu Kiko, Chiba, Japan
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