Brain Energetics

The brain is a highly energy-demanding organ, requiring substantial metabolic resources to support neuronal activity and computation, even at rest. Because neuronal activity depends closely on the production and delivery of energy, disruptions in metabolism can limit neural function and increase vulnerability to physiological and pathological stress. This collaboration seeks to understand how energy is generated, delivered and used in the brain, and how the balance between metabolic supply and the demands of neural activity shapes the function of neurons and circuits. The central hypothesis is that the need for energetic efficiency places fundamental limits on how neural systems are organized, how they operate and how accurately they perform computations, from individual cells to circuits, networks and behavior.

To identify general principles underlying these constraints, researchers will combine molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioral measurements across worms, flies, rodents and humans, alongside theoretical and mechanistic modeling. They will study conserved metabolic pathways as well as the energetic costs of basic neural processes, including action potentials and synaptic transmission. Measurements of energy use during these processes will inform models across species and levels of organization, while experiments examining changes in arousal and nutrient availability will reveal how neural systems adapt when energy conditions change. Together, these approaches aim to determine how interactions among neurons, glia and the vasculature shape neural computation and behavior, and to identify potential ways that the brain can adapt to or overcome metabolic limitations in healthy and dysfunctional states.