The DOI matches its Crossref record; 103 of the 104 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Energetics of CNS White Matter
Open accessAbstract
The energetics of CNS white matter are poorly understood. We derive a signaling energy budget for the white matter (based on data from the rodent optic nerve and corpus callosum) which can be compared with previous energy budgets for the gray matter regions of the brain, perform a cost-benefit analysis of the energetics of myelination, and assess mechanisms for energy production and glucose supply in myelinated axons. We show that white matter synapses consume ≤0.5% of the energy of gray matter synapses and that this, rather than more energy-efficient action potentials, is the main reason why CNS white matter uses less energy than gray matter. Surprisingly, while the energetic cost of building myelin could be repaid within months by the reduced ATP cost of neuronal action potentials, the energetic cost of maintaining the oligodendrocyte resting potential usually outweighs the saving on action potentials. Thus, although it dramatically speeds action potential propagation, myelination need not save energy. Finally, we show that mitochondria in optic nerve axons could sustain measured firing rates with a plausible density of glucose transporters in the nodal membrane, without the need for energy transfer from oligodendrocytes.
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“To perform all of their tasks, OL energy demand is enormous, reaching a maximum during early myelination and remaining at a high level throughout life [284].”
From Revisiting the Pathogenesis of X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy (2025) · cites this paper as [284]
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“The reconstructed blood vessels (~230 mm in length) did not show much evidence of layer-specific behavior but had a lower density in the white matter, presumably for energetic reasons (45) and in the regions surrounding large vessels (fig. 4B).”
From A petavoxel fragment of human cerebral cortex reconstructed at nanoscale resolution (2024) · cites this paper as [45]
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Cites
Sokoloff, L., Reivich, M., Kennedy, C., Rosiers, M. H. D., Patlak, C. S., Pettigrew, K. D., Sakurada, O., & Shinohara, M. (1977) · Journal of Neurochemistry · doi:10.1111/j.1471-4159.1977.tb10649.x · Cited by 6,000
An Energy Budget for Signaling in the Grey Matter of the Brain
Attwell, D., & Laughlin, S. B. (2001) · Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · doi:10.1097/00004647-200110000-00001 · Cited by 3,543
Self-citationSiesjö, B. K. (1978) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,426
Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, Cellular, and Medical Aspects
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Cell death and control of cell survival in the oligodendrocyte lineage
Barres, B. A., Hart, I. K., Coles, H. S. R., Burne, J. F., Voyvodic, J. T., Richardson, W. D., & Raff, M. C. (1992) · Cell · doi:10.1016/0092-8674(92)90531-g · Cited by 1,345
Cortex: Statistics and Geometry of Neuronal Connectivity
Braitenberg, V., & Schüz, A. (1998) · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-03733-1 · Cited by 1,178 · cited 1×
“To calculate synapse density in the rat cerebral cortex (7.36 10 17 synapses/m 3), the number of synapses/neuron [8000: Braitenberg and Schuz (1998)] was multiplied by the density of neurons [9.2 10 13 neurons/m 3: Braitenberg and Schuz (1998)].”
MethodInfluentialThe cost of cortical computation.
Lennie, P. (2003) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/s0960-9822(03)00135-0 · Cited by 1,134
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A theory of the effects of fibre size in medullated nerve
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Energy limitation as a selective pressure on the evolution of sensory systems
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Royeck, 2010, Persistance of neuronal transmitter release onto oligodendrocyte precursor cells during progressive myelination in the mouse optic tract, Soc Neurosci Abstr, 36, 554
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Sorted by citations
The Pathobiology of Vascular Dementia
Iadecola, C. (2013) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.008 · Cited by 1,857
“Due to fewer synapses, white matter energy usage, and consequently blood flow, is 1/3 lower of that of the gray matter (Harris and Attwell, 2012).”
Synaptic Energy Use and Supply
Harris, J. J., Jolivet, R., & Attwell, D. (2012) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2012.08.019 · Cited by 1,747
Self-citationSugar for the brain: the role of glucose in physiological and pathological brain function
Mergenthaler, P., Lindauer, U., Dienel, G. A., & Meisel, A. (2013) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2013.07.001 · Cited by 1,612
The nature of feelings: evolutionary and neurobiological origins
Damasio, A., & Carvalho, G. B. (2013) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3403 · Cited by 1,280
Myelination of the Nervous System: Mechanisms and Functions
Nave, K.-A., & Werner, H. B. (2014) · Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology · doi:10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100913-013101 · Cited by 983
Metadata
- Authors
- Harris, J. J., & Attwell, D.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Attwell, David
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2012-01-04
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 356-371
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC3272449
- OpenAlex
- W1973747802
- Cited by
- 505
- References
- 104
- Citations by year
- 2026: 40 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 9.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (075232)
- Fondation Leducq
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- myelination, optic nerve, corpus callosum, action potential propagation, mitochondrial energy production, glucose transporters, nodal membrane
- MeSH terms
- Action Potentials, Animals, Cell Membrane, Central Nervous System, Energy Metabolism, Glucose, Mitochondria, Models, Neurological, Myelin Sheath, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neural Conduction, Oligodendroglia, Optic Nerve, Synapses, Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative, Rats
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