Brainmap: Energetic Footprint of Cortical Function

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - 12:00
Seminar room 2204, 149 13th St., Charlestown Navy Yard

Fahmeed Hyder
Yale University

Energy demand of neural activity in cerebral cortex is extraordinarily high, a necessity met by glucose oxidation yielding ATP abundantly. My narrative trails through folklore and dogma to discoveries from various independent observations about how brain’s insatiable appetite for glucose and oxygen dynamically tracks neural activity, from regions as small as cortical columns to large cortical swathes across hemispheres. Results show that imaging oxidative energy provides an integrated perspective on brain networks, where oxidative energy demand of cortical workspace is quite uniform. Diagnosis of brain disorders and diseases can be improved by mapping the oxidative energetic footprint of cortical function.