Bioenergetics and Brain Health 1: Evolutionary Perspective and Overview of Brain Energy Metabolism

This is the fist in a short series of presentations on the interrelationships between energy metabolism, brain function and resilience, and disease processes. Overindulgent sedentary lifestyles are increasingly common with adverse consequences for trajectories of brain health in current and future generations. In this series I review findings from studies of humans and animals that are elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which energy intake and exercise affect structural and functional neuroplasticity. This topic is considered from a bioenergetic perspective with emphases on brain evolution, developmental neurobiology, adult neuroplasticity and disorders of mood and cognition.