What is it about?
We built a new brain map combining energy use (PET) and connectivity (fMRI) to show that the most metabolically active regions anchor higher cognition networks, carry intense synaptic activity, and accumulate more Alzheimer’s-related amyloid plaques.
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Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Standard brain connectivity maps ignore energy costs, treating all regions equally. Our metabolism-weighted approach reveals that the brain’s hardest-working hubs are the same regions that degenerate first - linking lifelong metabolic demand to disease risk.
Perspectives
Embedding energy metabolism into connectome models offers a new framework for studying brain aging, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline. Ultimately, this may help identify early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear.
Valentin Riedl
Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg
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This page is a summary of: Metabolism-weighted brain connectome reveals synaptic integration and vulnerability to neurodegeneration, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2531706123.
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