It has long been thought that the functional identity of mammalian brain neurons is programmed during development and remains stable throughout adult life; however, certain populations of neurons continue to express active regulators of neuronal identity into adulthood. Prolonged exposure to diet-induced metabolic stress induces features of neuronal identity modification in adult mice, and maladaptive changes in neuronal identity maintenance have been linked to cognitive impairment in humans suffering from neurodegenerative diseases often associated with obesity. Here we discuss how, by unraveling the neurological roots of obesity, we may solve the puzzle of whether mammalian brain neurons retain identity plasticity into adulthood, while advancing knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms at the interface of metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders.

中文翻译：

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大脑神经元可以改变身份吗？肥胖的教训。


长期以来，人们一直认为哺乳动物大脑神经元的功能特性是在发育过程中编程的，并在整个成年生活中保持稳定;然而，某些神经元群在成年后继续表达神经元身份的活性调节因子。长期暴露于饮食诱导的代谢应激会诱导成年小鼠神经元身份改变的特征，而神经元身份维持的适应不良变化与患有神经退行性疾病（通常与肥胖有关）的人类的认知障碍有关。在这里，我们讨论了如何通过解开肥胖的神经根源，解决哺乳动物大脑神经元是否在成年后仍保持身份可塑性的难题，同时推进对代谢和神经退行性疾病界面致病机制的认识。