Switching adolescent high-fat diet to adult control diet restores neurocognitive alterations
Switching adolescent high-fat diet to adult control diet restores neurocognitive alterations
Date
2016
Authors
Gustavo Pacheco-Lopez, 0000-0002-3458-197X
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Abstract
Description
In addition to metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, obesity is associated with adverse cognitive and emotional outcomes. Its growing prevalence in adolescents is particularly alarming since this is a period of ongoing maturation for brain structures (including the hippocampus and amygdala) and for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis, which is required for cognitive and emotional processing. We recently demonstrated that adolescent, but not adult, high-fat diet (HF) exposure leads to impaired hippocampal function and enhanced amygdala function through HPA axis alteration (Boitard et al., 2012, 2014, 2015). Here, we assessed whether the effects of adolescent HF consumption on brain function are permanent or reversible. After adolescent exposure to HF, switching to a standard control diet restored levels of hippocampal neurogenesis and normalized enhanced HPA axis reactivity, amygdala activity and avoidance memory. Therefore, while the adolescent period is highly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of diet-induced obesity, adult exposure to a standarddiet appears sufficient to reverse alterations of brain function.
Keywords
MEDICINA Y CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD