Abstract
Lactate in the brain has long been associated with ischaemia; however, more recent evidence shows that it can be found there under physiological conditions. In the brain, lactate is formed predominantly in astrocytes from glucose or glycogen in response to neuronal activity signals. Thus, neurons and astrocytes show tight metabolic coupling. Lactate is transferred from astrocytes to neurons to match the neuronal energetic needs, and to provide signals that modulate neuronal functions, including excitability, plasticity and memory consolidation. In addition, lactate affects several homeostatic functions. Overall, lactate ensures adequate energy supply, modulates neuronal excitability levels and regulates adaptive functions in order to set the 'homeostatic tone' of the nervous system.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 235-249 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Nature Reviews Neuroscience |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 8 2018 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledgements: Research in P.J.M.'s laboratory has been supported over the years by the Swiss National Science Foundation, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia), the University of Lausanne (UNIL; Switzerland), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL; Switzerland), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV; Switzerland), the National Centre for Competence in Research (NCCR) Synapsy and the Préfargier Foundation. The authors thank H. Fiumelli and F. Barros for comments on the manuscript.