According to researches, the human brain consumes 10 times more energy than the rest of the body’s organs, and this continues even when resting, and the human brain consumes high levels of energy even at rest. In fact, it is stated by experts that even the brain of people in a ‘coma’ consumes 2-3 times more energy than many organs in the body.
This is what has been described as one of the great mysteries of human neuroscience. Why does the human brain continue to have a great need to consume energy even when it is inactive? A new study targeting this question is trying to unravel another of the mysteries of the human brain.
Vesicles consume energy even when the brain is not active
The research, published yesterday in the academic journal Science Advances, revealed that this is caused by a small and hidden ‘fuel hunter’ in our neurons. A brain cell uses neuromuscular junctions called synapses to transmit signals to another neuron. In this transmission process, neurons send vesicles to regions called tails before the synapse. These vesicles then act as an ‘envelope’ in signaling by absorbing neurotransmitters. These ‘envelopes’ are also carried to the tip of the neuron and allow signals to be transmitted through the synapse. Experts state that it is very normal for an active brain to consume more energy in this basic process. So the study tries to unravel why the brain consumes so much energy when these activities slow down.
The researchers performed experiments on nerve terminals to compare the metabolic states of active and inactive synapses. As a result, it was revealed that synaptic vesicles needed high metabolic energy even when signal transfer between neurons did not occur.
The authors of the study stated that the ‘secret pumps’ inside these vesicles that act as ‘envelopes’ and that enable the removal of protons work non-stop. According to the explanations, these ‘pumps’, which need to work constantly, are constantly trying to throw out the protons, so the resting brain continues to consume high levels of energy.
In addition, experts state that much more detailed research is needed to observe how different types of neurons meet so much energy needs. Timothy Ryan, a biochemist at Cornell Medicine in New York, also states that some neurons may have different responses to energy loss, making the human brain vulnerable when it cannot find an energy source: “It is clinically important to safely reduce this energy consumption. can produce effective results. ”
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