ISTA professor receives $3 million for brain energy research

Tim Vogels, a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg, will receive $3 million to study how the brain uses energy, ORF reports. His work is part of a 10-year international research initiative.

The Simons Collaboration on Brain Energetics, or SCOBE, is led by Thomas Clandinin of Stanford University in the United States. It brings together 26 researchers from Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway, with $80 million in total funding.

The human brain uses about 20 watts of energy, roughly as much as a dim light bulb. Researchers do not yet fully understand how the brain takes in, distributes and uses that energy, or what happens when its supply is too high or too low.

Vogels and his team will develop computer models that account for the brain’s energy balance, unlike commonly used neural models. The models are intended to connect energy supply with the processing of information by neurons, help researchers compare results from different laboratories and guide future experiments.

The team also aims to build a shared understanding of the energy metabolism of different brain cells and how it relates to neural activity. Another focus is how the brain adapts when energy availability changes, including during metabolic stress. Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, reduced oxygen supply and pregnancy can affect the energy available to the brain.

The initiative aims to explore how the brain maintains its functions when energy is scarce or abundant, and what happens if protective mechanisms fail. Longer term, the research could help answer questions about information processing in the brain, the causes of developmental disorders and ageing.