Metabolic Neurophilosophy: Linking Brain Function with Body Metabolism

This special issue of Biochemistry (Moscow) "Interaction between Neural Signals and Metabolic Pathways: Role in the Functioning of a Healthy and Diseased Brain", includes studies on the mechanisms of close functional connections between the brain and other organs and tissues of the body. These mechanisms link brain metabolism with its signaling function under normal and pathological conditions. The metabolic signals that enable these connections are the focus of research in this field, which is crucial for an integrated understanding of how the body functions. An impairment in metabolic signaling leads to the development of various pathologies. Metabolites such as glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids act as primary signals that influence neural networks and brain chemistry. This connection between the body's metabolism and brain signaling is not merely a matter of fuel supply, but rather a complex information exchange process. The interaction between the brain and the body occurs within the framework of coordinated work of two main axes: the brain-to-body axis ("from top to bottom" or from center to periphery), and the body-to-brain axis (from periphery to center). This relationship between brain function and body metabolism forms a mechanical and logical connection between metabolic somatic diseases and brain disorders that may underlie their comorbidities. The close connection between brain function, metabolism, and the metabolism of peripheral organs and tissues forms the basis for treating "body-brain metabolic" disorders. Identifying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this relationship allows identifying targets for treating and preventing comorbid somatic and brain conditions. The recent achievements, which prove the close relationship between metabolism and brain activity, have led to the emergence of a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field at the interface of neuroscience, philosophy of consciousness, and functional biochemistry of metabolism. This new synthetic field can be called "metabolic neurophilosophy". Its subject is to explore the integrity and inseparability of the body's metabolism (including both in the brain and peripheral organs and tissues) and the signaling and informational function of the brain. It also studies the dependence of all brain activity, including cognition, and mental states on energy processes and metabolic signaling throughout the body.