Jack W. London

Computer simulation of the metabolism of guinea pig brain slices, and how they differ from the intact brain

A computer model of the metabolism of glutamate, glutamine, gamma-aminobutyrate and the Krebs cycle in guinea pig cortex slices has been constructed in terms of 98 reactions among 38 unlabeled species. Fitting the data from slices required the addition of a third small compartment to previous 2-compartment models based on whole brain experiments. This third compartment corresponds to the tissue damaged during the slicing process, and dominates the metabolism of 14C-labeled substrates at early times. The times required for equilibration between this additional compartment and the bulk of the slice are no longer than expected. Interpretation of short-term slice experiments may be subject to appreciable error owing to the presence of this additional compartment.