title: Dietary Restriction Affects Neuronal Response Property and GABA Synthesis in the Primary Visual Cortex.
abstract: Previous studies have reported inconsistent effects of dietary restriction (DR) on cortical inhibition. To clarify this issue, we examined the response properties of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of DR and control groups of cats using in vivo extracellular single-unit recording techniques, and assessed the synthesis of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the V1 of cats from both groups using immunohistochemical and Western blot techniques. Our results showed that the response of V1 neurons to visual stimuli was significantly modified by DR, as indicated by an enhanced selectivity for stimulus orientations and motion directions, decreased visually-evoked response, lowered spontaneous activity and increased signal-to-noise ratio in DR cats relative to control cats. Further, it was shown that, accompanied with these changes of neuronal responsiveness, GABA immunoreactivity and the expression of a key GABA-synthesizing enzyme GAD67 in the V1 were significantly increased by DR. These results demonstrate that DR may retard brain aging by increasing the intracortical inhibition effect and improve the function of visual cortical neurons in visual information processing. This DR-induced elevation of cortical inhibition may favor the brain in modulating energy expenditure based on food availability.
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Jinfang
authors: J
authors: Yang
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Qian
authors: Q
authors: Wang
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Fenfen
authors: F
authors: He
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Yanxia
authors: Y
authors: Ding
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Qingyan
authors: Q
authors: Sun
authors: College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors: Tianmiao
authors: T
authors: Hua
authors: Business School, University of the West Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors: Minmin
authors: M
authors: Xi
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D002415:Cats; D004032:Diet; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009038:Motion; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid