Global and regional brain metabolic scaling and its functional consequences.
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Information processing in the brain requires large amounts of metabolic energy, the spatial distribution of which is highly heterogeneous, reflecting the complex activity patterns in the mammalian brain. RESULTS: In this study, it was found, based on empirical data, that despite this heterogeneity, the volume-specific cerebral glucose metabolic rate of many different brain structures scales with brain volume with almost the same exponent: around -0.15. The exception is white matter, the metabolism of which seems to scale with a standard specific exponent of -1/4. The scaling exponents for the total oxygen and glucose consumptions in the brain in relation to its volume are identical, at 0.86 +/- 0.03, which is significantly larger than the exponents 3/4 and 2/3 that have been suggested for whole body basal metabolism on body mass. CONCLUSION: These findings show explicitly that in mammals: (i) volume-specific scaling exponents of the cerebral energy expenditure in different brain parts are approximately constant (except brain stem structures), and (ii) the total cerebral metabolic exponent against brain volume is greater than the much-cited Kleiber's 3/4 exponent. The neurophysiological factors that might account for the regional uniformity of the exponents and for the excessive scaling of the total brain metabolism are discussed, along with the relationship between brain metabolic scaling and computation.
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The declining specific rate of brain metabolism in larger mammalian species varies with brain mass raised to an exponent of around −0.14.
“The declining specific rate of brain metabolism (that is, metabolic rates per gram of tissue) in larger mammalian species, which varies with brain mass raised to an exponent of around −0.14 [2], [20]”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
Karbowski estimated that cerebral energy per neuron increases with brain size based on the supposed scaling of neuronal density with brain size.
“although Karbowski [20], based on the supposed scaling of neuronal density with brain size, estimated that cerebral energy per neuron increases with brain size.”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
The estimated glucose use per neuron is remarkably constant, varying only by 40% across the six species of rodents and primates including humans.
“Based on glucose and oxygen metabolic rates in awake animals and their recently determined numbers of neurons, here I show that, contrary to the expected, the estimated glucose use per neuron is remarkably constant, varying only by 40% across the six species of rodents and primates (including humans).”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
The metabolic cost per neuron has never been examined in humans or across species of different brain sizes.
“the metabolic cost per neuron has never been examined, neither in humans nor across species of different brain sizes”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
The linear scaling of brain metabolism with number of neurons can be reconciled with the experimental observation that specific glucose use in the brain decreases with increasing brain mass, given that average neuronal density in the whole brain appears to decrease with increasing brain size at the same rate.
“This latter finding can be reconciled with the experimental observation that specific glucose use in the brain decreases with increasing brain mass [20] given the present observation that average neuronal density in the whole brain may, depending on the species analyzed, appears to decrease with increasing brain size at the same rate.”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
The precise exponent that describes the scaling of average neuronal density with brain mass varies across mammalian orders and, for cross-order comparisons of metabolic scaling, is strongly dependent on the choice of species analyzed.
“as shown here, the precise exponent that describes the scaling of average neuronal density with brain mass varies across mammalian orders, and, for cross-order comparisons of metabolic scaling such as in [20], is strongly dependent on the choice of species analyzed.”
From Scaling of Brain Metabolism with a Fixed Energy Budget per Neuron: Implications for Neuronal Activity, Plasticity and Evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [20]
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References 106 · Cited by 161
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Clarke DD Sokoloff L Siegel GJ, et al Basic Neurochemistry 1994 New York: Raven Press 645 680
- Purves D Body and Brain 1988 Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Univ. Press
- Authors
- Karbowski, J.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Karbowski, Jan
- ORCID
- Karbowski, Jan
- Venue
- BMC Biology
- Published
- 2007-05-09
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 18-18
- ISSN
- 1741-7007 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC1884139
- OpenAlex
- W1977653683
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 106
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- California Institute of Technology
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- scaling exponents, Kleiber's law, oxygen consumption, white matter metabolism, regional brain metabolism, brain volume, brain computation, mammalian brain
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Glucose, Humans, Organ Specificity, Oxygen, Species Specificity
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