Disruptions to brain energy metabolism may be a feature of some psychiatric conditions, new collaborative research published in Nature Mental Health has found.
NeuRA and UNSW Conjoint Senior Principal Scientist and Director of NeuRA Imaging, Professor Caroline (Lindy) Rae, contributed to the work developed through the Ernst Strungmann Forum, titled ‘Brain and body energy metabolism and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders’.
“In the brain, energy is tightly controlled but we’ve found that for people with psychiatric disorders, there are metabolic dysregulations or disruptions,” Professor Rae said.
“Energy metabolism plays an important role in brain function and impairment is a hallmark of psychiatric disorders, which can be targeted by effective treatments.
“This is a new way to think about the impact of brain metabolism on brain function, but also shows that we need to know more about it.”
The researchers noted that the metabolic changes observed were not just a consequence of illness, but a core feature of some psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.
You can read the report here.
