Responsibilities
Principle Investigator
Research group „Neuroenergetics of human brain function"
Contact
Technische Universität München
Einsteinstrasse 1
81675 Munich, Germany
Email:
valentin.riedl@tum.de
Website:
https://valentinriedl.de
Further Information
Research focus:
The brain consumes 20% of the human body’s energy budget. Neuronal communication among highly connected brain regions is the main driver of the brain’s energy demands. While we know much about the macroscopic organization of the human brain in specialized regions and brain networks, the energy budget of human brain function is still unclear. Moreover, brain metabolism is heavily disturbed in several neuropsychiatric disorders but the relationship to brain network communication is also unknown.
In my research group, we measure energy consumption of the human brain and relate these to common measures of brain organization. We simultaneously acquire energy metabolism and brain connectivity measures on an integrated PET/MR (Siemens Biograph mMR) scanner. We measure inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter levels using 1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) and modulate brain function using non-invasive, stereotactic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Methods: hybrid PET/MRI (Positron Emission Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Keywords:
brain energy metabolism, human brain function, brain networks, functional connectivity (FC), effective connectivity (EC), PET/MR, TMS, MRS
Current GSN students: Samira Epp, Antonia Bose, André Hechler, Roman Belenya
Research projects:
- Develop new imaging approaches to integrate brain profiles of energy metabolism and network connectivity.
- Study the energy metabolism of brain networks during memory consolidation and modulate this process with non-invasive brain stimulation.
- Link brain energetics with nutrition and body metabolism.
- Uncover deficient metabolic brain profiles in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
Funding:
ERC starting grant 759659, Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) RI2519, Kommission für klinische Forschung (KKF) 8762754, Alzheimer Forschungsinitiative (AFI) 088660
Selected publications:
Castrillon G, Sollmann N, Kurcyus K, Razi A, Krieg SM, Riedl V The physiological effects of noninvasive brain stimulation fundamentally differ across the human cortex. Science Advances. 2020 Jan 31. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay2739
Scherr M, Utz L, Tahmasian M, Pasquini L, Grothe MJ, Rauschecker JP, Grimmer T, Drzezga A, Sorg C, Riedl V Effective connectivity in the default mode network is distinctively disrupted in Alzheimer's disease-A simultaneous resting-state FDG-PET/fMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp. 2019 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24517
Kurcyus K, Annac E, Hanning NM, Harris AD, Oeltzschner G, Edden R, Riedl V Opposite Dynamics of GABA and Glutamate Levels in the Occipital Cortex during Visual Processing. J Neurosci. 2018 Nov. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI
Riedl V, Utz L, Castrillón G, Grimmer T, Rauschecker JP, Ploner M, Friston KJ, Drzezga A, Sorg C. (2016) Metabolic connectivity mapping reveals effective connectivity in the resting human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 113(2):428-33.
Riedl V, Bienkowska K, Strobel C, Tahmasian M, Grimmer T, Förster S, Friston KJ, Sorg C, Drzezga A. (2014) Local Activity Determines Functional Connectivity in the Resting Human Brain: A Simultaneous FDG-PET/fMRI Study. J Neurosci. 34(18):6260-6.