Date: 25th, September(thu) 15:00-17:00 PlaceFRoom Ew-305, E Block,IIS, The University of Tokyo SpeakerFDr. Renaud Jolivet(University of Zurich@Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology) TitleFDeciphering neuron-glia compartmentalization in cortical energy metabolism Abstract: Glucose is the main energy substrate in the adult brain under normal conditions. Over the last years, evidence has accumulated indicating that lactate glycolytically produced from glucose in astrocytes could be oxidatively metabolized in neurons. The significance and possible roles of this so-called astrocyte-neuron metabolic shuttle are still a much debated issue. I will briefly introduce this question within the larger framework of cortical energy metabolism and show how it can be addressed using different types of mathematical approaches. I will first show how an activity-dependent energy budget can be computed for cortical matter in a top-down fashion, starting from the amount of energy substrates consumed by the brain and progressively segmenting energy production in glial vs. neuronal components and signaling vs. non-signaling components. This approach also yields an estimate for the compartmentalization of glucose and oxygen utilization between neurons and astrocytes. I will then show that these results support the presence of a shuttle of carbons from astrocytes to neurons, the amplitude of which is correlated to the activity-level within the tissue (specifically to the cycling of neurotransmitters). Second, I will present a detailed biophysical model of astrocyte-neuron metabolic interactions. I will show that constraints derived in the first part of my talk impose a lactate shuttle from astrocytes to neurons. I will also show that the biophysical model is consistent and to some extent predicts the dynamics of several important markers of energy metabolism. Finally, I will discuss the possible roles of this neuron-astrocyte coupling as well as future work.