Glucose Utilization of the Fetal Brain.

Fetal brain development is accompanied by an increasing energy requirement to sustain the continual elongation and branching of cell processes which increase cell surface-to-volume ratio. The maintenance of ion gradients, an energy-demanding process, requires more glucose as the surface area increases.

Some of the selective local increases in glucose utilization may be the result of some sensory stimuli in utero. Those structure in the fetal auditory pathway (arrows point to the inferior colliculi) increase their glucose uptake measurably during vibroacoustic stimulation. (Figure)

Click here to see patterns of fetal electrocortical activity, eye movements and brain blood flow during the transition from REM Sleep to Quiet Sleep.

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