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Updated: May 20, 2025

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice
Published on: January 25, 2016
Myelin: A possible proton capacitor for energy storage during sleep and energy supply during wakefulness
Alessandro Maria Morelli1, Ann Saada2, Felix Scholkmann3
1University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Abstract:
There are several physiological reasons why biological organisms sleep. One key one concerns brain metabolism. In our article we discuss the role of metabolism in myelin, based on the recent discovery that myelin contains mitochondrial components that enable the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). These mitochondrial components in myelin probably originate from vesiculation of the mitochondrial membranes in form from mitochondrial derived vesicles (MDVs). We hypothesize that myelin acts as a proton capacitor, accumulating energy in the form of protons during sleep and converting it to ATP via OXPHOS during wakefulness. Empirical evidence supporting our hypothesis is discussed, including data on myelin metabolic activity, MDVs, and allometric scaling between white matter volume and sleep duration in mammals.
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