For decades, it was claimed that glucose was the sole and sufficient energy substrate to sustain neuronal activity and brain function. Our results challenge this view by demonstrating that despite glucose availability, lactate shuttling from astrocytes to neurons via monocarboxylate transporters is necessary to give rise to the BOLD signal in the rat cerebral cortex following whisker stimulation. Moreover, lactate shuttling turned out to be also essential for sustaining behavioral performance associated with activation of the rat barrel cortex. These findings call for a reappraisal of neuroenergetics and the role of astrocytes in determining brain activation and function.
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