Central nervous system (CNS) control of systemic metabolism will be the focus of the 2024 symposium from Diabetes®, the flagship basic diabetes research journal of the American Diabetes Association® (ADA). ADA Diabetes Journal Symposium—It Is All in Your Head—Central Nervous System Control of Systemic Metabolism will be held on Sunday, June 23, from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ET in Room W308 of the Orange County Convention Center and be available on-demand on the virtual meeting platform for registered meeting participants following the 84^th Scientific Sessions.

One of the major conceptual advances in metabolic research over the past two decades is that neural control of tissues and organs is central to homeostatic regulation. Although the brain was once thought to play only a minor role in systemic metabolism, it is now known that the CNS is in constant communication with peripheral organs through afferent neural inputs and coordinated neuro-endocrine responses. Recent work has developed a mechanistic understanding of specific processes that allow the brain to control metabolism.

The symposium, chaired by Diabetes Associate Editor Jennifer L. Estall, PhD of Université de Montréal, Canada, will open with a presentation called “Brain Defense of Glycemia in Health and Diabetes,” by Zaman Mirzadeh, MD, PhD, of the Barrow Neurological Institute. Additional speakers then will provide examples of distinct brain-peripheral organ connections that contribute to whole-body metabolism and have implications for normal and diabetic physiology. Diabetes Associate Editor Kevin W. Williams, PhD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will describe lessons learned from the body’s adaptation to exercise. Laura Rupprecht, PhD, of the Duke University School of Medicine, will describe gut-brain communication. Kristy L. Townsend, PhD, of The Ohio State University, will describe neural signaling to and from adipose tissue. The program will conclude with a question and discussion period.

“With the major advances in neuroscience in the late 20^th century, it became possible to see two-way communication from the brain to peripheral tissues in more precise and definitive ways,” said Diabetes Editor in Chief David A. D’Alessio, MD, of the Duke University School of Medicine. “This opened new fields of investigation to identify specific pathways and their impact on systemic metabolism. The role of the CNS in metabolic regulation has important implications for normal physiology and for disease, and this symposium was constructed to highlight how these may contribute to diabetes.”