A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Impact of Day Length on Brain Glucose Metabolism in Men: A Large-Scale Repeated Measures PET Study
Authors: Pak, Kyoungjune; Shin, Seunghyeon; Kim, Keunyoung; Kim, Jihyun; Nam, Hyun-Yeol; Nummenmaa, Lauri; Nuutila, Pirjo; Liu, Xingdang; Sun, Lihua
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal of Biological Rhythms
Article number: 07487304251360874
ISSN: 0748-7304
eISSN: 1552-4531
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304251360874
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: No Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304251360874
The brain is the most energy-demanding organ, yet whether cerebral energy homeostasis exhibits seasonal rhythmicity remains unclear. In this study, 432 healthy men underwent a health checkup program with fasting-state brain [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scanning twice: first at the baseline and then at the 5-year follow-up. We analyzed the effect of day length on brain glucose uptake separately for both time points. In both baseline and follow-up scans, day length on the day of imaging significantly predicted glucose uptake in the socio-emotional circuit. A longer day length was associated with increased glucose uptake in the cuneus, precuneus, orbitofrontal cortex, pre- and postcentral gyrus, superior and middle temporal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, insula, and frontal pole. This large-scale longitudinal PET study provides landmark evidence for the impact of daylight exposure on brain glucose metabolism. Findings disclose the baseline seasonal variation of brain energy consumption in men.
Keywords:
brain, day length, glucose metabolism, positron emission tomography, seasonality
Funding information in the publication:
This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2020R1F1A1054201; K.P.), Sigrid Juselius Stiftelse and European Research Council Advanced Grant (101141656; L.N.) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82272042; X.L.), and Fudan University affiliated with Huashan Hospital start-up funding (L.S.). X.L. received funding from the Pudong New Area Clinical Characteristic Discipline Project (No. PWYts2021-01), Clinical Research Program of Health Industry of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health (202150002), Pudong Hospital, Fudan University, College Level Project (YJYJRC202108/ YJYJRC202101/Zdzk2020-14).
