ReviewThe Journal of physiology2015
Non-signalling energy use in the brain.
Review in The Journal of physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of transcranial photobiomodulation in cerebral circulation and brain neural oscillations: a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Brain mitochondria as key drivers of cognition and behaviour.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Metabolic reprogramming via SIRT2-deficient microglial large extracellular vesicles ameliorates alzheimer's pathology.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Frogs Uncouple Neural Activity From Oxygen Consumption After Hibernation.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- BOLD signal changes can oppose oxygen metabolism across the human cortex.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- NLRP6 governs hippocampal microglial phagocytosis to resist stress-induced depressive-like behaviors in mice and the intervention effect of bezafibrate.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Metabolic Symbiosis and Vulnerability in the CNS Axon-Myelin Unit.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Energetic diversity in retinal ganglion cells is modulated by neuronal activity and correlates with resilience to degeneration.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Shared mechanisms of dopamine and ATP transmission in the nucleus accumbens.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Frogs uncouple neural activity from oxygen consumption after hibernation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- SIRT3/AMPK-Driven Mitophagy Failure Underlies Methylmercury-Induced Neurotoxicity: Evidence from Humans to Cells.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- The Pathobiological Underpinnings of Psychosis: From the Stress-Related Hypothesis to a Multisystemic Approach.NeuroSci · 2025Review
- Controlling Electron Flow in Carbofluorescein Voltage Indicators.ACS chemical biology · 2025Article
- Neural Metabolic Networks: Key Elements of Healthy Brain Function.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Review
- Neural circuit mechanisms underlying dominance traits and social competition.Biophysics reviews · 2025Article
- Unveiling the role of local metabolic constraints on the structure and activity of spiking neural networks.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Neural mechanisms balancing accuracy and flexibility in working memory and decision tasks.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2025Article
- Fueling Brain Inhibition: Integrating GABAergic Neurotransmission and Energy Metabolism.Neurochemical research · 2025Review
- The role of n-3-derived specialised pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) in microglial mitochondrial respiration and inflammation resolution in Alzheimer's disease.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2025Review
- Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Energy use limits the information processing power of the brain. However, apart from the ATP used to power electrical signalling, a significant fraction of the brain's energy consumption is not directly related to information processing. The brain spends just under half of its energy on non-signalling processes, but it remains poorly understood which tasks are so energetically costly for the brain. We review existing experimental data on subcellular processes that may contribute to this non-signalling energy use, and provide modelling estimates, to try to assess the magnitude of their ATP consumption and consider how their changes in pathology may compromise neuronal function. As a main result, surprisingly little consensus exists on the energetic cost of actin treadmilling, with estimates ranging from < 1% of the brain's global energy budget up to one-half of neuronal energy use. Microtubule treadmilling and protein synthesis have been estimated to account for very small fractions of the brain's energy budget, whereas there is stronger evidence that lipid synthesis and mitochondrial proton leak are energetically expensive. Substantial further research is necessary to close these gaps in knowledge about the brain's energy-expensive non-signalling tasks.
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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.