Direction of lactate transfer between astrocytes and neurons (ANLS vs NALS)

Establish whether the astrocyte-to-neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS) or the neuron-to-astrocyte lactate shuttle (NALS) accurately describes lactate transfer under physiological conditions in the brain.

Background

The chapter contrasts top-down and bottom-up metabolic models (e.g., Jolivet et al. vs. Mangia et al.) that predict opposite directions for lactate shuttling, with differences largely stemming from assumptions about glucose transport capacities in astrocytes versus neurons.

Resolving this debate is central to understanding energy provisioning during neural activity and has implications for interpreting metabolic measurements and modeling disease states.