When one brain cell passes a message to another and wants the recipient to become activated or «excited». it sends it the chemical messenger glutamate. Glutamate will keep exciting the recipient brain until it is cleared away. If it is not cleared away, the brain cell can die of too much excitation or «excitotoxicity.» Elevated blood sugar, at levels comparable to those seen in the setting of insulin resistance and diabetes, can interfere with the clearing away of glutamate.
