title: Reprint of: 'Brain insulin signaling: A key component of cognitive processes and a potential basis for cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes'.
abstract: Understanding of the role of insulin in the brain has gradually expanded, from initial conceptions of the brain as insulin-insensitive through identification of a role in regulation of feeding, to recent demonstration of insulin as a key component of hippocampal memory processes. Conversely, systemic insulin resistance such as that seen in type 2 diabetes is associated with a range of cognitive and neural deficits. Here we review the evidence for insulin as a cognitive and neural modulator, including potential effector mechanisms, and examine the impact that type 2 diabetes has on these mechanisms in order to identify likely bases for the cognitive impairments seen in type 2 diabetic patients.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience and Center for Neuroscience Research, University at Albany (SUNY), SS399, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA. emcnay@albany.edu
authors.forename: Ewan C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: McNay
authors.forename: Andrew K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Recknagel