ArticleCell2011
Astrocyte-neuron lactate transport is required for long-term memory formation.
Article in Cell, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 938 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
938 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 1,628 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of lactate-based therapies on intracranial pressure and brain metabolism of patients with acute brain injury: a systematic review.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
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- Lactate Signal: Modulator of Cellular Energy Production and Anabolism.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Fyn kinase: a key mechanistic regulator and therapeutic target in tauopathy and neurodegenerative diseases.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- Convergent Astrocytic Failure in Parkinson's Disease: A System-Level Model of Pathogenesis and Treatment.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Vagal nerve stimulation induces vascular oscillations and enhances long-term learning.iScience · 2026Article
- Astrocytes in Neurodegeneration: Spatial States, Crosstalk, and Emerging Therapies.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Roles of lactate and protein lactylation in neurogenesis and neurodegenerative disease.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Astrocytic PI3Kα controls synaptic plasticity and cognitive function via serine metabolism.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Neurons run on fat.npj metabolic health and disease · 2026Article
- Brain mitochondria as key drivers of cognition and behaviour.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
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- Bridging the gap: neuroinflammation and the dawn of precision medicine in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
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- The sleep-wake cycle: molecular mechanisms, disorders, and therapeutic targets in the context of energy metabolism.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Activity-dependent protein synthesis in neurons requires microglial-metabolic coupling.Cell metabolism · 2026Article
- Estradiol Replacement Modulates Synaptic Transmission-Related Proteins in the Hippocampus of Ovariectomized Rats: An Exploratory Proteomic Approach.Journal of neurochemistry · 2026Article
- Perisynaptic Astrocytic Processes as Communication Hubs and Early Sites of Dysfunction.The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry · 2026Review
- Integration of Raman spectroscopy and chemometric modeling to study lactose effects on human glioblastoma brain cells.RSC advances · 2026Article
- Energy paradox in REM sleep: balancing supply and consumption in brain metabolism.Communications biology · 2026Article
878 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
We report that, in the rat hippocampus, learning leads to a significant increase in extracellular lactate levels that derive from glycogen, an energy reserve selectively localized in astrocytes. Astrocytic glycogen breakdown and lactate release are essential for long-term but not short-term memory formation, and for the maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic strength elicited in vivo. Disrupting the expression of the astrocytic lactate transporters monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4) or MCT1 causes amnesia, which, like LTP impairment, is rescued by L-lactate but not equicaloric glucose. Disrupting the expression of the neuronal lactate transporter MCT2 also leads to amnesia that is unaffected by either L-lactate or glucose, suggesting that lactate import into neurons is necessary for long-term memory. Glycogenolysis and astrocytic lactate transporters are also critical for the induction of molecular changes required for memory formation, including the induction of phospho-CREB, Arc, and phospho-cofilin. We conclude that astrocyte-neuron lactate transport is required for long-term memory formation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.