Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Regional differences in human brain glucose metabolism reflect local energy demands, but their cellular and mitochondrial determinants remain unclear. We combined [ 18 F]FDG positron emission tomography in healthy human participants with estimates of cellular composition and mitochondrial density to unravel (sub)cellular correlates of heterogeneity in brain glucose metabolism. By correcting for RNA content and differential gene expression due to postmortem sampling, we addressed methodological shortcomings in multimodal neuroimaging integration. We introduce transcriptionally derived cytoarchitectonic maps of the human cortex that are consistent with histological findings, providing a biologically grounded framework for relating in vivo neuroimaging signals. Accordingly, mitochondrial distribution showed strong association with the intrinsic energy requirements at resting state. In contrast, relations between metabolism and neuronal composition were driven by sensory input and mitochondria-sparse thin-axon neurons, suggesting that stimulation-induced energy demand is met rather by neuronal processes that are independent of mitochondrial abundance to maintain efficient information processing.
Authors: Matej Murgaš, Sebastian Habernig, Christian Milz, Samantha Graf, Murray B Reed, Benjamin Eggerstorfer, Pia Falb, Clemens Schmidt, Elisa Briem, Gabriel Schlosser, Alexandra Mayerweg, Kenan Al Barede, Ivan Pörnbacher, Lukas Nics, Sazan Rasul, Marcus Hacker, Dan Rujescu, Andreas Hahn, Rupert Lanzenberger
Institution: Medical University of Vienna
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223561190