title: Effects of diet on brain plasticity in animal and human studies: mind the gap.
abstract: Dietary interventions have emerged as effective environmental inducers of brain plasticity. Among these dietary interventions, we here highlight the impact of caloric restriction (CR: a consistent reduction of total daily food intake), intermittent fasting (IF, every-other-day feeding), and diet supplementation with polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on markers of brain plasticity in animal studies. Moreover, we also discuss epidemiological and intervention studies reporting the effects of CR, IF and dietary polyphenols and PUFAs on learning, memory, and mood. In particular, we evaluate the gap in mechanistic understanding between recent findings from animal studies and those human studies reporting that these dietary factors can benefit cognition, mood, and anxiety, aging, and Alzheimer's disease-with focus on the enhancement of structural and functional plasticity markers in the hippocampus, such as increased expression of neurotrophic factors, synaptic function and adult neurogenesis. Lastly, we discuss some of the obstacles to harnessing the promising effects of diet on brain plasticity in animal studies into effective recommendations and interventions to promote healthy brain function in humans. Together, these data reinforce the important translational concept that diet, a modifiable lifestyle factor, holds the ability to modulate brain health and function.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, The James Black Centre, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NU, UK.
authors.forename: Tytus
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1567-529X
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, The James Black Centre, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NU, UK.
authors.forename: Gisele Pereira
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, The James Black Centre, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NU, UK.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1260-8083
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thuret
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000178:diet therapy; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D059808:Polyphenols