Research study led by USC shows that a high-fat, sweet diet plan in adolescence can trigger relentless memory problems, in spite of later dietary enhancements, highlighting a substantial, long-term impact on brain function and memory.USC researchers found that rats fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet plan during their adolescence experienced memory impairment.A current research study led by USC researchers, which observed rats on a high-fat and sweet diet plan, suggests that consuming a lot of junk food during teenage years may have long-lasting impacts on memory function. By tracking the impact of the diet plan on the rats levels of acetylcholine, and running the rats through some memory screening, they could discover more about the important relationship in between diet plan and memory.Experimental Findings on Memory ImpairmentThe scientists tracked the acetylcholine levels of a group of rats on a fatty, sugary diet and in a control group of rats by analyzing their brain responses to certain jobs created to check their memory. They utilized two drugs, PNU-282987, and carbachol, and found that with those treatments given directly to the hippocampus, a brain region that controls memory and is interrupted in Alzheimers disease, the rats memory ability was restored.But without that unique medical intervention, Kanoski stated more research is required to understand how memory issues from a junk food diet during adolescence can be reversed.Reference: “Western diet plan intake hinders memory function by means of dysregulated hippocampus acetylcholine signaling” by Anna M.R. Hayes, Logan Tierno Lauer, Alicia E. Kao, Shan Sun, Molly E. Klug, Linda Tsan, Jessica J. Rea, Keshav S. Subramanian, Cindy Gu, Natalie Tanios, Arun Ahuja, Kristen N. Donohue, Léa Décarie-Spain, Anthony A. Fodor and Scott E. Kanoski, 8 March 2024, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.DOI: 10.1016/ j.bbi.2024.03.015 In addition to Kanoski and Hayes, the group consisted of other USC Dornsife researchers Logan Tierno Lauer, Alicia E. Kao, Molly E. Klug, Linda Tsan, Jessica J. Rea, Keshav S. Subramanian, Cindy Gu, Arun Ahuja, Kristen N. Donohue, and Léa Décarie-Spain; Natalie Tanios of Keck School of Medicine of USC; as well as Anthony A. Fodor, Shan Sun of University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Research study led by USC suggests that a high-fat, sugary diet in teenage years can trigger persistent memory impairments, in spite of later dietary improvements, highlighting a substantial, long-lasting influence on brain function and memory.USC scientists discovered that rats fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet during their adolescence experienced memory impairment.A current research study led by USC researchers, which observed rats on a high-fat and sugary diet, recommends that taking in a great deal of processed food during teenage years may have long-lasting effects on memory function.”What we see not just in this paper, but in a few of our other recent work, is that if these rats matured on this processed food diet plan, then they have these memory impairments that dont go away,” said Scott Kanoski, a teacher of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “If you just basically them on a healthy diet, these results sadly last well into adulthood.”The research study appears in the May concern of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.In establishing the study, Kanoski and lead author and postdoctoral research fellow Anna Hayes considered that previous research study has actually shown a link in between bad diet and Alzheimers disease. People who struggle with Alzheimers illness tend to have lower levels of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine in the brain that is essential for memory and functions such as discovering, attention, arousal, and involuntary muscle movement.The group questioned what this could suggest for more youthful individuals who might be on a similar fat-filled, sweet Western diet plan, especially during teenage years when their brain is undergoing considerable development. By tracking the impact of the diet plan on the rats levels of acetylcholine, and running the rats through some memory screening, they might discover more about the crucial relationship in between diet plan and memory.Experimental Findings on Memory ImpairmentThe researchers tracked the acetylcholine levels of a group of rats on a fatty, sugary diet plan and in a control group of rats by analyzing their brain actions to certain tasks designed to test their memory. The group took a look at the rats brains post-mortem for signs of interrupted acetylcholine levels.The memory test included letting the rats explore brand-new items in various places. Days later on, the researchers reestablished the rats to the scene that was nearly identical except for the addition of one new object. Rats on the processed food diet plan revealed indications they might not keep in mind which object they had formerly seen, and where, while those in the control group revealed familiarity.”Acetylcholine signaling is a mechanism to help them encode and remember those events, analogous to episodic memory in human beings that enables us to bear in mind occasions from our past,” lead author Hayes described. “That signal appears to not be taking place in the animals that matured consuming the fatty, sugary diet.”Kanoski emphasized that teenage years is a really sensitive duration for the brain when important modifications are occurring in advancement. “I do not know how to state this without seeming like Cassandra and doom and gloom,” he stated, “however unfortunately, some things that may be more easily reversible during their adult years are less reversible when they are occurring during youth.”There is at least some hope for intervention. Kanoski stated that in another round of the research study, the research study group took a look at whether the memory damage in rats raised on the processed food diet plan might be reversed with medication that induces the release of acetylcholine. They utilized 2 drugs, PNU-282987, and carbachol, and found that with those treatments offered straight to the hippocampus, a brain area that controls memory and is disrupted in Alzheimers illness, the rats memory ability was restored.But without that unique medical intervention, Kanoski said more research study is required to know how memory problems from a processed food diet during teenage years can be reversed.Reference: “Western diet consumption hinders memory function through dysregulated hippocampus acetylcholine signaling” by Anna M.R. Hayes, Logan Tierno Lauer, Alicia E. Kao, Shan Sun, Molly E. Klug, Linda Tsan, Jessica J. Rea, Keshav S. Subramanian, Cindy Gu, Natalie Tanios, Arun Ahuja, Kristen N. Donohue, Léa Décarie-Spain, Anthony A. Fodor and Scott E. Kanoski, 8 March 2024, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.DOI: 10.1016/ j.bbi.2024.03.015 In addition to Kanoski and Hayes, the team consisted of other USC Dornsife scientists Logan Tierno Lauer, Alicia E. Kao, Molly E. Klug, Linda Tsan, Jessica J. Rea, Keshav S. Subramanian, Cindy Gu, Arun Ahuja, Kristen N. Donohue, and Léa Décarie-Spain; Natalie Tanios of Keck School of Medicine of USC; as well as Anthony A. Fodor, Shan Sun of University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The work was supported by the following: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant DK123423 (SEK, AF), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant DK104897 (SEK), Postdoctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Aging F32AG077932 (AMRH), National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (different awards to LT and KSS), Quebec Research Funds postdoctoral fellowship 315201 (LDS) and the Alzheimers Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity AARFD-22-972811 (LDS).