November 21, 2010 / Brain metabolism, Energy Substrates, Methodology
1. "The suppression of GDPs was strictly proportional to the fall in pH(i) caused by weak carboxylic acids (l-lactate, d-lactate, or propionate)" Source: Spontaneous Network Events Driven by Depol
November 16, 2010 / Excitatory GABA, Glucose, Ketone bodies, Methodology, Pyruvate
“They teach us in our institutes that GABA is excitatory in the neonates, should we still believe it?" (Excitatory GABA scandal?) There was an interesting development in the Department of Neur
November 15, 2010 / Epilepsy, Glucose, Ketone bodies, Lactate, Neuroprotectors, Pyruvate
A few interesting articles about glucose, lactate, and pyruvate and their neuroprotective functions. J Neurochem. 2010 Feb 15 Chronic in vitro ketosis is neuroprotective but not anticonvulsant. Ma
October 15, 2010 / Brain metabolism, Dementia, Energy Substrates, Neuroprotectors
Twenty-five percent of individuals over 65 years of age have sufficient cognitive problems, short of dementia, to affect the quality of their lives (1, 2). The ability to learn consciously and recall
October 4, 2010 / Astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle, Lactate, Neuroscience FAQ, Q&A
Original Q&A :: About these Q&A :: Other Q&A Q: Dr. Zilberter, I am a little bit confused in the area of what they call shuttles between neurons and glial cells. What the suttles do?
August 25, 2010 / Ketone bodies, Neuroprotectors
There are seven traits allowing ketones to serve as neuroprotectors during brain damage: they require only three steps to enter the Krebs cycle (footnote a) - compare with 9 steps obligatory f
July 31, 2010 / Astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle, Lactate, Methodology
Glucose is an energy source for both neurons and glia in the adult brain but lactate, one of the monocarboxylic acids, being converted from pyruvate in astrocytes and supplied to neuron ("astrocyte-ne
July 19, 2010 / Energy Homeostasis, Energy Substrates, Excitatory GABA, Methodology
In the brain, neuronal electrical activity and intricate metabolic energy provisions are closely related. Although both functions have been painstakingly researched by electrophysiologists and biochem
June 19, 2010 / Astrocyte–neuron ketone shuttle, Astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle, Energy Homeostasis, Energy Substrates, Excitatory GABA, Methodology
On discrepancies of data from experiments on brain slices, in toto, and in vivo Let's start with the fundamental differences between environments depending on the types of experiments. (See Commenta
June 15, 2010 / Astrocyte–neuron ketone shuttle, Ketone bodies
In the brain, to each one neurone, there are 9 astrocytes (1). They are surrounded by capillaries and are close to the both blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal "the first cellular barrier encountered
June 13, 2010 / Astrocyte–neuron lactate shuttle, Glucose, Lactate
Updates: Glucose versus lactate in immature brain slices Brain metabolism updates: Sweet and sour recipes for the brain Astrocyte-neuron lactate transport is required for long-term memory formation
May 17, 2010 / Adaptive regulation, Glucose
It's a well known fact that drinking carbohydrate-rich beverages during high-intensity exercise improves performance even if it's relatively short, which made researchers suspect that direct metabolic
April 17, 2010 / Energy Substrates, Excitatory GABA, Methodology, Neuroprotectors, Theories
As described in the post "On the mechanisms of brain protection by ketones", GABA, the principal brain chemical, normally acts to prevent hyperactivity in the neuronal networks. However, in the imma
March 21, 2010 / Energy Substrates, Epilepsy, Excitatory GABA, Lactate, Neuroprotectors, Pyruvate
In the previous post On the mechanisms of brain protection by ketones, I described how a shortage of ketones caused pathological changes in brain cells in brain slices (in vitro, 1) and in whole ani
March 17, 2010 / Ketone bodies, Methodology
D-beta-Hydroxybutyrate is a physiologically occurring D-isomer produced by hepatocytes and, to a lesser extent, by astrocytes. It is an alternative source of energy in the brain when glucose suppl