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So why doesn't the brain do this sort of housekeeping all the time? Nedergaard thinks it's because cleaning takes a lot of energy. "It's probably not possible f

So why doesn't the brain do this sort of housekeeping all the time? Nedergaard thinks it's because cleaning takes a lot of energy. "It's probably not possible for the brain to both clean itself and at the same time [be] aware of the surroundings and talk and move and so on," she says. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/18/236211811/brains-sweep-themselves-clean-of-toxins-during-sleep https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/18/2362118... If you want more info than that, it's easy to google this question and come up with other articles.

amelius 6y ago
Is it known what mechanism triggers the cleaning process at the cellular level? Is there some molecule/hormone that says "I'm asleep now, go clean up the mess", and does it happen in the entire brain simultaneously or is it done in phases in different parts of the brain?
- kipchak 6y ago
  It seems to be driven by norepinephrine levels,[1] which seems like it it might have some interesting implications. >Our analysis showed that norepinephrine also is a key regulator of glymphatic activity and that norepinephrine might be responsible for suppression of glymphatic during wakefulness. [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636982/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636982/