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The relative metabolic demand of inhibition and excitation

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Waldvogel

    (Human Motor Control Section)

  • Peter van Gelderen

    (In Vivo NMR Research Center, NINDS, NIH, Building 10)

  • Wolf Muellbacher

    (Human Motor Control Section
    Neurological Hospital of Vienna)

  • Ulf Ziemann

    (Human Motor Control Section
    Neurological Hospital of Vienna)

  • Ilka Immisch

    (Human Motor Control Section)

  • Mark Hallett

    (Human Motor Control Section)

Abstract

By using the (14C)2-deoxyglucose method1, inhibition has been shown to be a metabolically active process at the level of the synapse2,3. This is supported by recent results from magnetic resonance spectroscopy that related the changes in neuroenergetics occurring with functional activation to neurotransmitter cycling4. However, inhibitory synapses are less numerous and strategically better located than excitatory synapses, indicating that inhibition may be more efficient, and therefore less energy-consuming, than excitation. Here we test this hypothesis using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging in volunteers whose motor cortex was inhibited during the no-go condition of a go/no-go task, as demonstrated by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Unlike excitation, inhibition evoked no measurable change in the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signal in the motor cortex, indicating that inhibition is less metabolically demanding. Therefore, the ‘activation’ seen in functional imaging studies probably results from excitation rather than inhibition.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Waldvogel & Peter van Gelderen & Wolf Muellbacher & Ulf Ziemann & Ilka Immisch & Mark Hallett, 2000. "The relative metabolic demand of inhibition and excitation," Nature, Nature, vol. 406(6799), pages 995-998, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:406:y:2000:i:6799:d:10.1038_35023171
    DOI: 10.1038/35023171
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Hoegl & Hartmut Heinrich & Wolfgang Barth & Friedrich Lösel & Gunther H Moll & Oliver Kratz, 2012. "Time Course Analysis of Motor Excitability in a Response Inhibition Task According to the Level of Hyperactivity and Impulsivity in Children with ADHD," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(9), pages 1-10, September.
    2. Jos F. Brosschot & Bart Verkuil & Julian F. Thayer, 2018. "Generalized Unsafety Theory of Stress: Unsafe Environments and Conditions, and the Default Stress Response," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-27, March.
    3. Barbara Trattner & Céline Marie Gravot & Benedikt Grothe & Lars Kunz, 2013. "Metabolic Maturation of Auditory Neurones in the Superior Olivary Complex," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-14, June.

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