High Caloric Diet Induces Memory Impairment and Disrupts Synaptic Plasticity in Aged Rats.
Curr Issues Mol Biol
; 43(3): 2305-2319, 2021 Dec 18.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34940136
ABSTRACT
The increasing consumption of sugar and fat seen over the last decades and the consequent overweight and obesity, were recently linked with a deleterious effect on cognition and synaptic function. A major question, which remains to be clarified, is whether obesity in the elderly is an additional risk factor for cognitive impairment. We aimed at unravelling the impact of a chronic high caloric diet (HCD) on memory performance and synaptic plasticity in aged rats. Male rats were kept on an HCD or a standard diet (control) from 1 to 24 months of age. The results showed that under an HCD, aged rats were obese and displayed significant long-term recognition memory impairment when compared to age-matched controls. Ex vivo synaptic plasticity recorded from hippocampal slices from HCD-fed aged rats revealed a reduction in the magnitude of long-term potentiation, accompanied by a decrease in the levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor receptors TrkB full-length (TrkB-FL). No alterations in neurogenesis were observed, as quantified by the density of immature doublecortin-positive neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. This study highlights that obesity induced by a chronic HCD exacerbates age-associated cognitive decline, likely due to impaired synaptic plasticity, which might be associated with deficits in TrkB-FL signaling.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Dieta
/
Transtornos da Memória
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Plasticidade Neuronal
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Issues Mol Biol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Portugal