Palatable high-fat diet intake influences mnemonic and emotional aspects in female rats in an estrous cycle-dependent manner

Author(s):Show less -

Silva, Sara Pereira ^[1] ; Beserra-Filho, Jose Ivo Araujo ^[1] ; Kubota, Melina Chiemi ^[1] ; Cardoso, Gabriela Nascimento ^[1] ; Freitas, Francisca Rayanne Silva ^[1] ; Goncalves, Bianca Santos Martins ^[1] ; Vicente-Silva, Wilson ^[1] ; Silva-Martins, Suellen ^[1] ; Custodio-Silva, Ana Claudia ^[1] ; Soares-Silva, Beatriz ^[1] ; Maria-Macedo, Amanda ^[1] ; Santos, Jose Ronaldo ^[2] ; Estadella, Debora ^[1] ; Ribeiro, Alessandra Mussi ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biosci, Rua Silva Jardim 136, BR-11015020 Santos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sergipe, Dept Biosci, Sergipe - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: METABOLIC BRAIN DISEASE; v. 36, n. 7 AUG 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Worldwide, the excessive consumption of fat and/or sugar has increased considerably. Palatable high-fat diets (HFDs) lead to metabolic disturbances and obesity, and impact emotional and cognitive processes. Previous studies in rodent models suggested that HFDs often cause multiple behavioral alterations, such as learning and memory deficits, and anxiety-like behaviors. Different sexes imply different behavioral and cognitive abilities; yet, most of these studies dealt with male or ovariectomized rats. We evaluated HFD effects in female rats submitted to different behavioral tasks, considering the effects of endogenous hormonal variations throughout estrous cycle. Female Wistar rats in each phase of the estrous cycle using commercial chow (CC) or HFD for 32 days. During treatment, behavioral assessments using sucrose preference (SP), elevated plus-maze (EPM), open field (OF) and novel-object recognition (NOR). At the end of the behavioral tests, animals were euthanized, and performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the brains by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The main results demonstrated that (1) HFD-fed rats had higher body mass gain and food intake, without altering caloric intake, (2) rats in diestrus had lower sucrose intake, (3) females in metestrus and diestrus showed deficits in the novel-object recognition memory. Furthermore, TH-immunoreactivity decreased in the dorsal striatum and BDNF in the hippocampus in HFD-fed females. These results suggest that HFD alters neurochemical and metabolic aspects that may induce phase-dependent behavioral changes in female rats. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/26609-5 - Effects of myrtenol monoterpene complexed with Beta-cyclodextrin in a mice progressive model of Parkinson's Disease
• Grantee: Suellen Silva Martins
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 15/20785-8 - Bioprospecting of natural products with potential neuroprotective activity in animal models of Epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
• Grantee: Alessandra Mussi Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants