title: Neurochemical and electrophysiological deficits in the ventral hippocampus and selective behavioral alterations caused by high-fat diet in female C57BL/6 mice.
abstract: Mounting experimental evidence, predominantly from male rodents, demonstrates that high-fat diet (HFD) consumption and ensuing obesity are detrimental to the brain. To shed additional light on the neurological consequences of HFD consumption in female rodents and to determine the relatively early impact of HFD in the likely continuum of neurological dysfunction in the context of chronic HFD intake, this study investigated effects of HFD feeding for up to 12weeks on selected behavioral, neurochemical, and electrophysiological parameters in adult female C57BL/6 mice; particular focus was placed on the ventral hippocampus (vHIP). Selected locomotor, emotional and cognitive functions were evaluated using behavioral tests after 5weeks on HFD or control (low-fat diet) diets. One week later, mice were sacrificed and brain regional neurochemical (monoamine) analysis was performed. Behaviorally naïve mice were maintained on their respective diets for an additional 5-6weeks at which time synaptic plasticity was determined in ex vivo slices from the vHIP. HFD-fed female mice exhibited increased: (i) locomotor activity in the open field testing, (ii) mean turn time on the pole test, (iii) swimming time in the forced swim test, and (iv) number of marbles buried in the marble burying test. In contrast, the novel object recognition memory was unaffected. Mice on HFD also had decreased norepinephrine and dopamine turnover, respectively, in the prefrontal cortex and the vHIP. HFD consumption for a total of 11-12weeks altered vHIP synaptic plasticity, evidenced by significant reductions in the paired-pulse ratio and long-term potentiation (LTP) magnitude. In summary, in female mice, HFD intake for several weeks induced multiple behavioral alterations of mainly anxiety-like nature and impaired monoamine pathways in a brain region-specific manner, suggesting that in the female, certain behavioral domains (anxiety) and associated brain regions, i.e., the vHIP, are preferentially targeted by HFD.
authors: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Krishna
authors: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: M M
authors: MM
authors: Keralapurath
authors: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: Z
authors: Z
authors: Lin
authors: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Wagner
authors: Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: C B
authors: CB
authors: de La Serre
authors: Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors: D A
authors: DA
authors: Harn
authors: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: filipov@uga.edu.
authors: N M
authors: NM
authors: Filipov
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004435:Eating; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D030762:Estrous Cycle; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D053580:Muscle Strength; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D015306:Biogenic Monoamines
keywords: anxiety; dopamine; high-fat diet (HFD); long-term potentiation (LTP); ventral hippocampus (vHIP)