Touchpoints180® Expert Answer
What Are Ketones?
Last Updated: June 2026
Author: Lori Calabrese, MD
What Are Ketones?
Quick Answer
Ketones are naturally occurring molecules produced by the liver when the body shifts away from relying primarily on glucose for energy. They serve as an alternative fuel source and can be used by many tissues throughout the body, including the brain.
For many years, ketones were viewed primarily as an emergency fuel that helped humans survive periods of fasting or food scarcity. Today, researchers recognize that ketones do more than provide energy. They also participate in biological signaling and may influence processes related to metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, neuroplasticity, cellular adaptation, and overall health.
Interest in ketones has grown substantially in recent years because they provide a unique window into how metabolism influences the brain and body.
At Touchpoints180®, ketones are viewed not as an end point, but as one marker of a broader biological state. The larger question is not whether ketones are present, but what they may reveal about the biology influencing mood, cognition, metabolism, energy, physical performance, long-term well-being and healthy aging.
Key Takeaways
- Ketones are naturally occurring molecules produced by the liver that can serve as an alternative fuel source for the brain and body.
- Human beings evolved the ability to produce and use ketones as part of a normal metabolic adaptation to changing energy availability.
- Ketones do more than provide fuel. They also participate in biological signaling and may influence processes related to metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, neuroplasticity, and cellular adaptation.
- Interest in ketones extends beyond nutrition and weight loss. Researchers are increasingly investigating how ketones influence mood, cognition, metabolism, physical performance, healthy aging, and many other aspects of human health.
- Ketones are one marker of a broader metabolic state. Their significance lies not simply in their presence, but in what they may reveal about the biological systems influencing health and function.
- At Touchpoints180®, ketones are viewed as part of a larger conversation about metabolism, biological capacity, and the opportunity to influence how people feel, perform, and age.
The Deeper Explanation
Human beings require a continuous supply of energy.
Every thought, memory, movement, heartbeat, immune response, and cellular process depends upon the ability to produce and use energy efficiently. The brain alone consumes a substantial portion of the body’s energy despite representing only a small percentage of total body weight.
Most discussions about energy focus on glucose because it is the body’s most familiar fuel source. Yet human biology evolved with another remarkable capability: the ability to produce and use ketones.
Ketones are naturally occurring molecules produced by the liver when insulin levels fall and stored energy begins to be mobilized. This occurs during fasting, prolonged exercise, periods of reduced carbohydrate availability, and certain metabolic states. Under these conditions, the body begins converting fatty acids into ketones that can be used as fuel throughout the brain and body.
For many years, ketones were viewed primarily as a survival mechanism that allowed humans to survive during periods of food scarcity. That explanation remains true, but it is no longer the whole story.
Researchers increasingly recognize that ketones participate in biological processes extending far beyond energy production alone. In addition to serving as fuel, ketones influence cellular signaling pathways involved in metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, oxidative stress, neuroplasticity, adaptation, and cellular resilience.
This broader understanding helps explain why ketones have attracted growing scientific interest across fields as diverse as neuroscience, metabolism, psychiatry, neurology, aging, and longevity research.
At Touchpoints180®, ketones are viewed through this broader biological lens. The question is not simply whether ketones are present. The more important question is what their presence may reveal about the cellular networks influencing mood, metabolism, cognition, strength, resilience, and long-term well-being.
What Are Ketones, Exactly?
Ketones, sometimes called ketone bodies, are naturally occurring molecules produced by the liver from fatty acids. They serve as an alternative energy source that can be used by many tissues throughout the body, including the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle.
Three primary ketone bodies are produced during ketosis:
- Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)
- Acetoacetate (AcAc)
- Acetone
Of these, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) receives the greatest scientific attention and is the ketone most commonly measured in blood ketone testing.
Although ketones are often discussed as fuel, they are not nutrients that must be consumed and they are not essential dietary supplements. They are molecules the body can manufacture on its own when metabolic conditions favor their production.
This distinction is often overlooked in popular discussions about ketone drinks, powders, supplements, and other products marketed to consumers. The scientific interest in ketones stems primarily from the body’s ability to produce and utilize them as part of normal human physiology.
This distinction is important because ketones represent a normal aspect of human physiology rather than an artificial or abnormal state. Humans have produced and utilized ketones throughout evolutionary history during periods of fasting, physical exertion, illness, seasonal food variation, and other circumstances in which metabolic demands exceeded the immediate availability of glucose.
For many years, ketones were viewed primarily as an alternative fuel source—a biological backup system that helped humans function when glucose availability changed. Today, researchers recognize that ketones also participate in biological signaling and may influence cellular processes extending well beyond energy production alone.
Why Do Human Beings Make Ketones?
Human beings require a continuous supply of energy.
The brain cannot simply stop working because a meal is delayed. The heart cannot pause until more glucose arrives. Muscles, immune cells, and every other tissue throughout the body must continue functioning regardless of what happened at breakfast, yesterday, or last week.
One of the remarkable features of human physiology is that the body is not dependent upon a single fuel source to accomplish that task.
Human metabolism was designed with options.
At times, glucose may predominate. At other times, stored energy can be mobilized. upon stored energy. Under the right metabolic conditions, the liver converts fatty acids into ketones that can then be used throughout the brain and body.
Ketones are part of that normal physiologic response. They are not unusual, artificial, or evidence that something has gone wrong. They are part of normal human physiology and the body’s ability to maintain energy production as conditions change.
This is one reason ketones continue to attract so much scientific and clinical attention.
They offer a glimpse into one of the body’s most fundamental capabilities; the ability to adapt. Not by shutting down. Not by waiting for ideal circumstances. But by utilizing different biological strategies to meet the demands of the moment.
For many people, this represents a striking shift in their perspective.
Ketones are often discussed as though they belong to a particular diet, nutritional philosophy, or health trend.
In reality, ketones existed long before any of those ideas.
They are part of a biological design that allows human beings to remain capable, responsive, and metabolically flexible across a wide range of circumstances.
Understanding that principle helps explain why ketones have become such an important topic in modern conversations about metabolism, brain health, physical health, and healthy aging.
Ketones Are More Than Fuel
When most people hear the word “ketones,” they think about energy.
That is understandable.
Ketones can serve as an alternative fuel source for the brain and body, and for many years they were viewed primarily through that lens.
Yet energy is only part of the story.
If ketones functioned solely as fuel, much of the current scientific interest in ketones would be difficult to explain.
Researchers studying ketones have observed effects in areas that extend well beyond energy production, including inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial biology, neurotransmitter activity, cellular communication, and gene expression.
In other words, ketones appear to do more than help power cells.
They also influence how cells respond to their environment.
Human health depends upon far more than energy production alone. Cells must continuously communicate, respond to changing conditions, adapt to stress, and repair damage. And in addition, they must coordinate their activities and their biologic clocks with countless other cells throughout the brain and body.
Ketones participate in some of those processes.
That possibility helps explain why ketones are now being studied across such a wide range of conditions involving the brain, metabolism, inflammation, aging, and overall health.
This is a critical shift in perspective: ketones are not simply fuel. They are also part of the biological conversation occurring within and throughout the brain and body—one that researchers are still working to understand.
Ketones as Biological Signaling Molecule
Most people think of fuel as something that provides energy.
A gallon of gasoline powers a car. Electricity powers a computer. Food provides energy for the brain and body.
Fuel, however, is only part of what keeps living systems operating.
Cells must also communicate.
Throughout the brain and body, trillions of cells continuously exchange information. They respond to changes in their environment, coordinate their activities, regulate inflammation, manage stress, repair damage, maintain biological rhythms, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Much of that activity depends upon signaling.
Ketones participate in that conversation.
Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the ketone most commonly measured in blood testing, interacts with signaling pathways involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial biology, gene expression, neurotransmitter activity, and cellular adaptation.
In practical terms, this means ketones appear to do more than provide energy. Their presence influences how cells behave, communicate, and respond to changing conditions.
This is why ketones have attracted attention across fields as diverse as neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, metabolism, aging, cardiology, immunology, gastroenterology, and longevity research.
The significance of ketones lies not only in the fuel they provide, but also in the information they carry.
Few developments have changed our understanding of ketones more profoundly than this recognition.
Ketones are not simply molecules that help power the brain and body–they also participate in the biological communication that helps coordinate life itself.
Ketones, Neuroplasticity, and Adaptation
Human beings are constantly changing.
We learn. We recover. We respond to stress. We adapt to new circumstances. We navigate illness, aging, loss, growth, and the countless experiences that shape a life over time.
The brain’s ability to respond to those experiences is often referred to as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the capacity of the brain to learn, reorganize, form new connections, and adapt throughout life. It plays an important role in memory, learning, emotional regulation, recovery from injury, and the ability to respond to changing circumstances.
For many years, scientists believed that the brain became relatively fixed after early development. Today, we understand that the brain remains capable of change throughout the lifespan.
That capacity for change is not separate from biology.
Most people have experienced this firsthand. A night of poor sleep can affect concentration, memory, decision-making, and emotional regulation. Chronic stress can alter mood and cognition. Inflammation can affect energy, motivation, and mental clarity. Illness, hormonal shifts, and metabolic dysfunction can influence how a person thinks, feels, and lives.
The brain does not operate independently from the biological systems that support it.
This understanding has changed how many people think about brain health. Increasingly, attention has expanded beyond neurotransmitters and individual diagnoses to include the biological systems that help the brain produce energy, communicate, adapt, and respond to changing demands.
Ketones have become part of that conversation because they appear to influence some of the same biological processes that support cellular adaptation. Areas of active investigation include mitochondrial function, inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter regulation, cellular signaling, and gene expression.
These same biological processes appear repeatedly across discussions of psychiatric disorders, neurological conditions, cognitive performance, healthy aging, and many chronic health conditions that extend well beyond the brain.
This does not mean ketones are the answer to every problem.
It does suggest that metabolism may influence more aspects of human health than previously appreciated.
For many people, that realization changes the questions they begin asking.
Not simply, “What diagnosis do I have?” But also, “What underlying processes may be influencing my experience?”
And, “Are there opportunities to support those systems in ways that improve how I think, feel, and live?”
Ketones and Metabolic Flexibility
Some people can go several hours without eating and feel relatively stable.
Others become tired, irritable, mentally foggy, shaky, hungry, or preoccupied with food if they miss a meal.
Although many factors contribute to these experiences, they illustrate an important principle: the body does not always access and utilize stored energy with equal efficiency.
Human metabolism is designed with options.
After a meal, the body may rely more heavily on glucose. Between meals, stored energy can be mobilized. Under certain conditions, ketone production increases.
The ability to move between these metabolic states is often referred to as metabolic flexibility.
From this perspective, ketones become interesting not simply because they provide fuel, but because they reflect the body’s capacity to access, utilize, and transition between different forms of stored and available energy.
Metabolic flexibility influences insulin sensitivity, body composition, energy regulation, cognitive performance, physical performance, and healthy aging. Reduced metabolic flexibility, on the other hand, is commonly observed in obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, and other conditions associated with metabolic dysfunction.
For this reason, ketones are often viewed as part of a much larger biological story. They offer insight not only into fuel utilization, but also into the broader metabolic environment in which they are produced.
Ketones and Brain Health
Few experiences are more unsettling than noticing changes in how the brain functions.
Sometimes the changes are subtle. A person who once felt mentally sharp begins forgetting names, losing focus, struggling to learn new information, or feeling mentally fatigued by tasks that previously felt effortless.
For others, the concerns are more significant. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, migraine, traumatic brain injury, cognitive decline, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological conditions can profoundly affect quality of life, independence, relationships, and daily life.
Although these conditions differ substantially from one another, they share one important characteristic: they involve the organ that depends upon a continuous supply of energy more than any other—the brain.
Conversations about brain health have traditionally focused on neurotransmitters, brain structures, and individual disease processes. Those remain important. At the same time, growing attention has turned toward the regulatory systems that help the brain produce energy, maintain cellular function, respond to stress, and adapt throughout life.
This helps explain why metabolism has become such an important area of interest in brain health.
Ketones have attracted interest not simply because they provide fuel, but because they participate in biological processes that influence how the brain operates. As we discussed earlier, ketones are involved in signaling pathways related to mitochondrial function, inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter regulation, neuroplasticity, and cellular adaptation.
These same biological processes appear repeatedly in discussions of psychiatric disorders, neurological disease, cognitive performance, and healthy aging.
This does not mean ketones are a cure for brain disorders. Nor does it mean every neurological or psychiatric condition is primarily metabolic in origin.
It does suggest that metabolism may influence brain health in ways that were underappreciated for many years.
For many people, that realization changes the questions they begin asking.
Not simply:
“What diagnosis do I have?”
But also:
“What metabolic and signaling pathways may be influencing how my brain functions?”
And perhaps most importantly:
“Are there opportunities to support those systems in ways that help me think more clearly, feel better, maintain independence, and improve my quality of life?”
Ketones and Whole-Body Health
Although ketones are often discussed in the context of brain health, their effects are not limited to the brain.
Every organ system requires energy. Every tissue depends upon biological communication. The same processes that influence brain function—including metabolism, inflammation, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, immune signaling, and cellular adaptation—operate throughout the body.
This is one reason ketones have attracted attention far beyond psychiatry, neurology, and brain health.
Many people first encounter discussions about ketones through weight loss, obesity, diabetes, or metabolic health. Others encounter them through epilepsy, bipolar disorder, depression, OCD, Alzheimer’s disease, or concerns about cognitive decline.
Yet the conversation continues to expand.
Today, ketones are being studied in obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, cardiovascular health, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory conditions, chronic pain syndromes, neurodegenerative diseases, and healthy aging.
At first glance, these conditions may appear unrelated.
Yet many involve biological processes that repeatedly emerge across modern medical research: energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, oxidative stress, immune regulation, cellular signaling, and the ability of cells and tissues to respond to stress.
This does not mean ketones are the answer to every health challenge.
It does suggest that metabolism may influence more aspects of health than previously appreciated.
For many people, that realization changes the questions they begin asking
A symptom is no longer viewed only as an isolated problem.
Instead, it becomes an opportunity to explore whether broader physiologic systems may be contributing to what is happening—and whether supporting those systems might influence the outcome.
What Ketones Do Not Mean
As ketone testing has become more common, it is easy to begin treating ketone levels as a scorecard.
A higher number can feel encouraging. A lower number can feel discouraging. Before long, people may find themselves wondering whether a single ketone measurement determines whether they are succeeding or failing.
In reality, ketones do not work that way.
A ketone level is a point-in-time measurement. It provides useful information about what may be happening metabolically at a particular moment, but it does not capture the full complexity of human biology.
Ketone levels naturally fluctuate. Ketone levels naturally fluctuate because metabolism responds continuously to the conditions in which it operates. Food is one influence, but so are sleep, stress, physical activity, illness, inflammation, hormones, medications, body composition, and overall metabolic health. The same person may record different ketone values on different days while making excellent progress toward their goals.
A single ketone measurement can sometimes create false reassurance or unnecessary discouragement. Neither is helpful. Trends, symptoms, energy, metabolic health, and the broader clinical picture often provide far more meaningful information than any single reading alone.
For this reason, ketones should not be viewed as a grade, a score, or a measure of personal success.
Nor do ketones provide guarantees.
A higher ketone level does not promise symptom improvement. It does not guarantee remission from depression, bipolar disorder, migraine, obesity, insulin resistance, or any other health condition. Likewise, a lower ketone level does not automatically mean that meaningful biological change is not occurring.
The value of ketones lies elsewhere.
They offer one window into metabolism. They provide one piece of information about how the brain and body may be producing and utilizing energy. When interpreted alongside symptoms, physical capacity, metabolic health, and the broader context of a person’s life, they can contribute to a much richer understanding of what is happening biologically.
At Touchpoints180®, ketones are never viewed in isolation. We are interested in what they may reveal about the larger metabolic signalling systems that influence cognition, mood, metabolism, inflammation, energy, and resilience.
In many ways, ketones resemble other biomarkers used in medicine. They are valuable because they provide information, not because they provide certainty.
Ketones matter.
Their greatest value lies not in the number itself, but in what that number reveals about the biological story that number represents.
What We Commonly See at Touchpoints180®
Most people do not arrive at Touchpoints180® because they are interested in ketones.
They arrive because something no longer feels right. They come because something in their life, brain, body, or future matters to them.
For some, it is cognitive. They describe brain fog, forgetfulness, difficulty learning new information, reduced mental clarity, or a growing sense that their thinking is no longer as sharp as it once was.
Others arrive because of mood-related challenges. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma-related symptoms, substance use, irritability, or increasing difficulty managing everyday stress.
Some are focused on physical health. Weight gain, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatigue, chronic pain, menopause, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, declining physical performance, or loss of vitality can affect daily life.
Others are searching for answers related to inflammation, immune dysregulation, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain, migraine, neurological symptoms, or persistent health concerns that seem resistant to conventional approaches.
Increasingly, we also meet people whose primary concern is neither psychiatric nor metabolic. They are simply trying to preserve independence. They want to remain cognitively sharp, physically capable, resilient, independent, and engaged in life for as long as possible.
Although these concerns appear different on the surface, many people describe a similar experience: the sense that something has changed, but no one has been able to explain how the pieces fit together.
Fatigue may appear alongside cognitive changes. Mood symptoms may worsen as sleep deteriorates. Inflammatory symptoms may coexist with declining energy, worsening concentration, or metabolic dysfunction. Over time, many people begin to notice that challenges they once viewed as separate seem increasingly connected.
A person who once felt capable, adaptable, and healthy may begin to feel as though their brain and body are operating according to different sets of instructions.
Within that broader conversation, ketones often become relevant not because they are the problem or the solution, but because they may provide insight into the underlying physiology influencing those experiences.
For many individuals, the value of understanding ketones is not the number itself. It is the opportunity to better understand the biological story that number may represent.
Nutritional Ketosis, Ketones, and Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy
Because these terms are often used interchangeably, it is helpful to distinguish among them.
Ketones are the molecules themselves.
Ketosis is the metabolic state in which ketone production increases and measurable ketones are present in the body.
Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy (KMT) is a therapeutic strategy that may be used to intentionally achieve and sustain nutritional ketosis within a broader clinical framework.
In other words, ketones are not the same thing as ketosis, and ketosis is not the same thing as KMT.
A person may have measurable ketones without following Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy. Likewise, Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy involves far more than simply generating ketones. It incorporates clinical goals, symptom tracking, metabolic monitoring, and an understanding of the broader biological systems influencing health.
Understanding these distinctions helps explain why conversations about ketones, nutritional ketosis, and Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy are related—but not identical.
How Ketones Fit Within Metabolic Brain and Body Health
By now, it should be clear that ketones are much more than an alternative fuel source.
A person’s ketone level may change as sleep improves. It may change during periods of stress. It may change with illness, changes in physical activity, shifts in metabolic health, alterations in body composition, hormonal transitions, or dietary modifications.
For that reason, ketones are rarely just about food.
They reflect the biological environment in which they are produced.
This is one reason ketone levels can sometimes be surprisingly informative. They often change in response to many of the same factors that influence how people feel, think, perform, recover, and function in daily life.
The same systems that influence ketone production—including metabolism, mitochondrial function, inflammation, immune signaling, hormonal regulation, circadian biology, and energy utilization—also influence many aspects of brain and body health.
This is where ketones intersect with the concept of metabolic brain and body health.
Rather than viewing mood, cognition, metabolism, inflammation, energy, sleep, and physical health as entirely separate conversations, metabolic brain and body health asks how these systems influence one another and how they collectively shape human experience.
For some individuals, that conversation begins with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or cognitive concerns. For others, it begins with obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, chronic pain, neurological symptoms, or healthy aging.
The symptoms may differ.
The biological systems involved are often more connected than they first appear.
Ketones do not tell the entire story.
They do, however, offer one way of understanding the biology that may be operating beneath the surface.
The Touchpoints180® Perspective
At Touchpoints180®, ketones are never interpreted in isolation.
A ketone level is one piece of information. Like any biomarker, its meaning depends upon context.
A person sleeping poorly, experiencing significant stress, overtraining, undereating, recovering from illness, undergoing hormonal changes, or struggling with metabolic dysfunction may experience changes in ketone levels that have little to do with willpower or dietary compliance. Conversely, a person with an impressive ketone value may still be struggling with symptoms, anxiety, poor concentration, fragmented sleep, inflammation, or other health concerns.
This is one reason we encourage people to think beyond the number itself.
What matters most is understanding the biological conditions associated with ketone production and what those conditions may be telling us about the brain and body
How is the person feeling?
How are they functioning?
What is happening with mood, cognition, energy, sleep, metabolic health, physical performance, inflammatory symptoms, or overall well-being?
Those questions remain essential.
In our experience, ketones are often most valuable when viewed as part of a larger biological pattern. They can contribute to a deeper understanding of metabolism, but they rarely tell the entire story on their own.
For that reason, our interest extends beyond ketones themselves. We are interested in the biological systems that influence ketones, the conditions that support metabolic health, and the ways those systems may affect how people think, feel, perform, recover, and age.
The goal is not to achieve a perfect ketone number.
The goal is to better understand the biology that may be shaping a person’s present experience—and to use that understanding to influence what comes next.
Closing Thoughts
Ketones have been part of human biology for as long as human beings have existed. They are often discussed as molecules, measurements, or metabolic markers.
Yet most people are not interested in ketones for their own sake.
They’re interested in feeling well, thinking clearly, remaining physically strong and capable, maintaining independence, and optimizing their quality of life.
Understanding ketones does not fully explain how to achieve those goals. It does, however, provide another way of understanding the biology that may be influencing them.
That understanding may not provide all of the answers. It may, however, help us ask better questions.
Related Questions
- What is Nutritional Ketosis?
- What Is Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy?
- What Is Metabolic Brain and Body Health?
- What Is Metabolic Psychiatry?
- What Is Metabolic Flexibility?
- What Is Insulin Resistance?
- What Is Neuroinflammation?
- What Is the Gut-Brain Axis?
About Lori Calabrese, MD
Lori Calabrese, MD, is a physician leader in metabolic psychiatry, metabolic health, and brain health. She trained at Johns Hopkins and Harvard and served on the faculties of both Harvard Medical School and Yale School of Medicine. She is the founder of Touchpoints180®, a physician-led educational and health transformation ecosystem focused on metabolic brain and body health. Dr. Calabrese is a Nutrition Network Certified Medical Practitioner (summa cum laude), SMHP Certified Practitioner, ReCODE 2.0 Certified Practitioner, physician-educator, speaker, and advocate dedicated to advancing the understanding of how metabolism influences mental, cognitive, and physical well-being.
About Touchpoints180®
Touchpoints180® is a physician-led educational and health transformation ecosystem built around the principles of Metabolic Brain and Body Health.
By integrating education, mentorship, and systems-based health optimization, it helps individuals understand how the biological systems shaping resilience, cognition, mood, metabolism, and long-term well-being interact. That understanding helps people identify what truly moves the needle, make more informed decisions about their health, and take meaningful action that can change the trajectory of their lives.
Educational Disclaimer
This content is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It should not be considered medical advice and does not replace individualized medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Decisions regarding medical care should be made in consultation with a qualified healthcare professional familiar with your specific circumstances.
The references below are provided for readers who wish to explore the scientific literature supporting the concepts discussed in this Expert Answer.
Medically Reviewed by Lori Calabrese, MD
Last reviewed: June 2026
References
The references below are grouped by topic to help readers explore specific areas of interest related to Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy.
Foundational Metabolism / Brain Energy
- Rae CD, Baur JA, Borges K, Dienel G, Díaz-García CM, Douglass SR, et al. Brain energy metabolism: A roadmap for future research. J Neurochem. 2024;168(5):910-954. PMID: 38183680. doi:10.1111/jnc.16032.
- Puchalska P, Crawford PA. Multi-dimensional roles of ketone bodies in fuel metabolism, signaling, and therapeutics. Cell Metab. 2017;25(2):262-284. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.12.022. PMID: 28178565.
- Norwitz NG, Jaramillo JG, Clarke K, Soto A. Ketotherapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2020;155:141-168. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.02.003. Epub 2020 Aug 11. PMID: 32854853.
Metabolism and Mental Health
- Freyberg Z, Ford JM, Phillips ML. Metabolism matters in mental health. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2025;10(3):239-240. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.009. PMID: 40054983.
- Andreazza AC, Barros LF, Behnke A, Ben-Shachar D, Berretta S, Chouinard V, et al. Brain and body energy metabolism and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders. Nat Ment Health. 2025;3(7):763-771. doi:10.1038/s44220-025-00422-6.
- Kelly C, Trumpff C, Acosta C, Assuras S, Baker J, Basarrate S, et al. MiSBIE Study Group. A platform to map the mind-mitochondria connection and the hallmarks of psychobiology: the MiSBIE study. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2024;35(10):884-901. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2024.08.006. PMID: 39389809
Mitochondria / Neuroplasticity / Biological Signaling
- Newman JC, Verdin E. Ketone bodies as signaling metabolites. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jan;25(1):42-52. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2013.09.002. PMID: 24140022.
- Papageorgiou MP, Filiou MD. Mitochondrial dynamics and psychiatric disorders: The missing link. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024;165:105837. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105837. PMID: 39089419.
8. Chioino A, Sandi C. The emerging role of brain mitochondria in fear and anxiety. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2025;73:33-54. doi: 10.1007/7854_2024_537. PMID: 39505817.
- Seo M, Pyeon SY, Kim MS. Molecular links between metabolism and mental health: integrative pathways from GDF15-mediated stress signaling to brain energy homeostasis. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(15):7611. doi: 10.3390/ijms26157611. PMID: 40806735.
Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy / Ketosis
- Norwitz NG, Sethi S, Palmer CM. Ketogenic diet as a metabolic treatment for mental illness. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2020;27(5):269-274. doi: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000564. PMID: 32773571.
- Palmer CM. The ketogenic diet and metabolic treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. BJPsych Open. 2025;11(3):e94. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2025.50. PMID: 40340986.
Neuroinflammation and Psychiatric Disorders
- Pinto Payares DV, Spooner L, Vosters J, Dominguez S, Patrick L, Harris A, et al. A systematic review on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction/disorders in neurodevelopmental disorders and psychiatric/behavioral disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2024;15:1389093. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1389093. PMID: 39006821.
- Ni P, Ma Y, Chung S. Mitochondrial dysfunction in psychiatric disorders. Schizophr Res. 2024 Nov;273:62-77. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.027. PMID: 36175250.
Healthy Aging and Cognitive Longevity
- Na D, Zhang Z, Meng M, Li M, Gao J, Kong J, et al. Energy metabolism and brain aging: strategies to delay neuronal degeneration. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2025 Apr 21;45(1):38. doi: 10.1007/s10571-025-01555-z. PMID: 40259102.
- Giménez-Palomo A, Andreu H, de Juan O, Olivier L, Ochandiano I, Ilzarbe L, et al. Mitochondrial dysfunction as a biomarker of illness state in bipolar disorder: a critical review. Brain Sci. 2024;14(12):1199. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14121199. PMID: 39766398.
Metabolism and Psychiatric Disorders
- Cannon A, Jacoby C, Hughes AS. Mind in metabolism – A comprehensive literature review on diabetes and its connections to obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Curr Diab Rep. 2024;25(1):10. doi: 10.1007/s11892-024-01564-0. PMID: 39652222.
