Spectro-spatial features in distributed human intracranial activity proactively encode peripheral metabolic activity

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 2729 - 11
• Main Authors: Huang, Yuhao, Wang, Jeffrey B., Parker, Jonathon J., Shivacharan, Rajat, Lal, Rayhan A., Halpern, Casey H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.05.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378/1385; 631/378/1488; 631/443/319; 9/10; 9/26; Brain; Brain - metabolism; Central nervous system; Central Nervous System - metabolism; Chemoreception; Circadian rhythms; Correlation; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Homeostasis; Homeostasis - physiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hypothalamus; Hypothalamus - metabolism; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Neural networks; Regulatory sequences; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sleep and wakefulness
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38253-7

Mounting evidence demonstrates that the central nervous system (CNS) orchestrates glucose homeostasis by sensing glucose and modulating peripheral metabolism. Glucose responsive neuronal populations have been identified in the hypothalamus and several corticolimbic regions. However, how these CNS gluco-regulatory regions modulate peripheral glucose levels is not well understood. To better understand this process, we simultaneously measured interstitial glucose concentrations and local field potentials in 3 human subjects from cortical and subcortical regions, including the hypothalamus in one subject. Correlations between high frequency activity (HFA, 70–170 Hz) and peripheral glucose levels are found across multiple brain regions, notably in the hypothalamus, with correlation magnitude modulated by sleep-wake cycles, circadian coupling, and hypothalamic connectivity. Correlations are further present between non-circadian (ultradian) HFA and glucose levels which are higher during awake periods. Spectro-spatial features of neural activity enable decoding of peripheral glucose levels both in the present and up to hours in the future. Our findings demonstrate proactive encoding of homeostatic glucose dynamics by the CNS. How human brain activity relates to peripheral metabolism is not known. Here, the authors find that intracranial activity is strongly coupled to peripheral glucose variations across multiple brain regions and is sufficient for decoding of glucose levels.