Neuroscience最新文献

{"title":"δ-catenin haploinsufficiency is sufficient to alter behaviors and glutamatergic synapses in mice","authors":"Emma S. Hinchliffe ,&nbsp;Victoria Aragon ,&nbsp;Van T. Mai ,&nbsp;Swapna A. Shah ,&nbsp;Rahmi Lee ,&nbsp;Jyothi Arikkath ,&nbsp;Seonil Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>δ-catenin (also known as CTNND2) functions as an anchor for the glutamatergic AMPA receptor (AMPARs) to regulate synaptic activity in excitatory synapses. Alteration in the gene coding δ-catenin has been implicated in many neurological disorders. Some of these genetic alterations exhibit a profound loss of δ-catenin functions in excitatory synapses. We have shown that δ-catenin deficiency induced by the homozygous δ-catenin knockout (KO) and autism-associated missense glycine 34 to serine (G34S) mutation significantly alters AMPAR-mediated synaptic activity in cortical neurons and disrupts social behavior in mice. Importantly, many genetic disorders are caused by haploinsufficiency. Indeed, δ-catenin haploinsufficiency contributes to severe autism and learning disabilities in humans. However, previous studies have used only homozygous δ-catenin deficiency models. Therefore, it is important to examine the effects of δ-catenin haploinsufficiency on animals’ behaviors and excitatory synapses. Here, we use heterozygous δ-catenin KO and G34S mice as a δ-catenin haploinsufficiency model to examine this idea. Multiple behavioral assays, a social behavior test, contextual fear conditioning, and an open field test, reveal that both δ-catenin KO and G34S haploinsufficiency significantly disrupt animals’ social behavior and fear learning and memory. Interestingly, only KO haploinsufficiency mice show anxiety-like behavior. A biochemical assay using brain extracts demonstrates that δ-catenin haploinsufficiency significantly affects the levels of synaptic δ-catenin and AMPARs. Our findings thus suggest that δ-catenin haploinsufficiency affects animals’ behaviors via altering glutamatergic synaptic activity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"598 ","pages":"Pages 63-71"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146132575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Altered cerebral morphometry and individual-based morphological brain network in children with beta-thalassaemia major","authors":"Yaowen Li ,&nbsp;Zhuoshuo Li ,&nbsp;Shumin Xu ,&nbsp;Xinyi Liu ,&nbsp;Sixi Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaodong Wang ,&nbsp;Mengting Liu ,&nbsp;Hongwu Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Beta-thalassemia major (TM) is a severe genetic blood disorder that frequently leads to cognitive impairments in pediatric patients, yet its neurological impact remains insufficiently explored. This study investigates alterations in cerebral gray matter morphology and brain network topology in children with TM and their associations with cognitive performance. High-resolution brain MRI data were processed using FreeSurfer to extract cortical morphological features, from which individual-based Morphological Brain Networks (MBNs) were constructed based on vertex-wise similarity across gray matter regions. A cohort of 27 children with TM and 40 age-matched healthy controls underwent structural network analysis, standardized cognitive assessments, and comprehensive blood testing, including evaluations of hemoglobin and iron concentrations. Results revealed marked structural disruptions in the motor and temporal cortices of TM patients. Network-level analysis further identified topological abnormalities within fronto-parietal regions, suggesting altered structural connectivity patterns that may underlie observed cognitive deficits. Notably, iron overload was significantly correlated with both regional brain changes and impaired network organization, indicating a plausible mechanistic link between systemic iron dysregulation and neural dysfunction. These findings underscore the neurological vulnerability of children with TM and illuminate the structural basis of their cognitive challenges. The study highlights the need to integrate neuroimaging biomarkers with clinical hematological profiles to better understand TM’s effects on brain development. Future work should aim to expand these findings through longitudinal designs and larger samples to inform early neurocognitive interventions and optimize treatment strategies for this vulnerable population.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"598 ","pages":"Pages 111-121"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146096917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Experimentally induced fatigue and motor learning: A scoping review","authors":"Bahram Ghafari Goushe ,&nbsp;Layale Youssef ,&nbsp;Thomas Mangin ,&nbsp;Denis Arvisais ,&nbsp;Jason L. Neva ,&nbsp;Benjamin Pageaux","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The literature on the effect of fatigue on motor learning is limited and marked by inconsistent findings. This scoping review aimed to explore the available knowledge on the effects of fatigue induced by physical and cognitive exertion on motor learning, and to compile and understand how it is studied. A comprehensive search strategy using relevant index terms and keywords was conducted across MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, and Dissertations &amp; Theses Global. Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed considerable inconsistencies in how fatigue and motor learning were defined and measured. None of the studies examined the effect of fatigue induced by combined physical and cognitive exertion, and only 7 studies investigated fatigue induced by cognitive exertion. Acuity tasks were the most frequently used to assess motor learning, employed in 14 studies. Notably, all participants were between 16.5 and 31 years of age, and reporting of key demographic and physiological characteristics such as sex, gender, physical activity level, and body mass index was inconsistent or absent. This review highlights the need for comprehensive definitions of both fatigue and motor learning to improve consistency and reproducibility across studies. Given the limited research on the effects of fatigue induced by cognitive and combined physical and cognitive exertion, future studies should prioritize using these experimental manipulations. Also, future studies should diversify the motor learning tasks used in research to allow both direct and conceptual replication. Additionally, broader age ranges and comprehensive participant profiling should be prioritized.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"598 ","pages":"Pages 157-171"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146093459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Profiling metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 expression in Rett syndrome: consequences for pharmacotherapy","authors":"Sheryl Anne D. Vermudez ,&nbsp;Geanne A. Freitas ,&nbsp;Mackenzie Smith ,&nbsp;Rocco G. Gogliotti ,&nbsp;Colleen M. Niswender","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.040","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rett syndrome (RTT) is caused by mutations in the X-linked methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) transcription factor. RTT patients undergo a developmental regression between 6–18 months of age, resulting in the presentation of symptoms including repetitive behaviors, seizures, autistic-like features, and apneas. We have reported that levels of metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu₇) are significantly decreased in brain samples from RTT patients carrying truncation mutations in the <em>MECP2</em> gene. Additionally, we have identified decreases in <em>Mecp2^+/-</em> mice and demonstrated that administration of a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) with activity at mGlu₇ corrected deficits in cognitive, social, and respiratory domains. Here, we expanded our studies to a larger cohort of RTT samples covering a range of mutations and evaluated expression of the three widely expressed group III mGlu receptors (mGlu_{4,7 and 8}). We found significant decreases in mGlu₇, but not mGlu₄ or mGlu₈, mRNA expression across this larger cohort; additionally, we identified a previously unknown correlation in the expression of mGlu₄ and mGlu₈ in human brain samples. Stratification of RTT patients into those with classically severe versus mild <em>MECP2</em> pathogenic mutations revealed statistically significant decreases in mGlu₇ expression only in patients with mutations associated with severe symptoms. To establish whether target disruption is required for efficacy, we administered the PAM VU0422288 to mice modeling the mild R306C mutation (<em>Mecp2^R306C/+</em>) and found a significant reduction in apneas. These results provide the first evidence of potentially broad utility for mGlu₇ PAMs in reducing apneas across the RTT spectrum.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"598 ","pages":"Pages 9-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146100501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unravelling the impact on attention and emotions on neurophysiological responses to a multisensory experience of nature","authors":"Damien Gabriel ,&nbsp;Pierre-Edouard Billot ,&nbsp;Sylvie Tufeu ,&nbsp;Eric Fernandez ,&nbsp;Stéphanie Brédif ,&nbsp;Florine Maylié ,&nbsp;Karena Moretto ,&nbsp;Virginie Fera ,&nbsp;Julie Giustiniani","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.034","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.034","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Exposure to natural environments has been linked to improved well-being, reduced stress, and enhanced attention. This study examined neurophysiological and behavioral effects of multisensory nature exposure (visual, auditory, and olfactory) compared to urban environments. Thirty-two right-handed women (25–49 years) performed a Go/No-Go task while EEG, electrodermal activity (EDA), and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Participants experienced images alone, images with sounds, images with odors, and images with both sounds and odors. Behavioral results showed improved task performance in natural environments, with more correct responses. However, odor-enriched conditions increased errors, suggesting that olfactory inputs may interfere with attention. Psychophysiological measures indicated lower skin conductance response (SCR) frequency in natural environments, especially under multisensory stimulation, consistent with reduced sympathetic arousal. EEG data revealed clear neural differences: the P1-N1 complex, linked to attentional effort, had greater amplitude in urban contexts, while the early posterior negativity (EPN), related to emotional processing, was stronger in natural conditions. Source localization associated EPN effects with the right occipital and inferior frontal gyrus. These findings support Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Stress Reduction Theory (SRT), highlighting nature’s restorative potential. Sensory enrichment appeared to strengthen emotional engagement while modulating attentional performance. Results emphasize the value of multisensory perspectives in environmental neuroscience and point to EEG biomarkers as sensitive indicators of cognitive and affective processes. Future work should extend these insights to real-world settings using mobile neurophysiological methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 50-61"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146080826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bibliometric analysis of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease: Insights from APP/PS1 mouse model research in the past two decades","authors":"Li Yan ,&nbsp;Haibin Wang ,&nbsp;Jianrong Shi ,&nbsp;Hongsheng Tan ,&nbsp;Qing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Background: The APP/PS1 transgenic mouse is a foundational model in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research, particularly for investigating the pivotal role of neuroinflammation in disease pathogenesis. Although substantial experimental work has explored inflammatory mechanisms in AD, the field still lacks a comprehensive overview of how research hotspots have evolved, which key scientific questions remain unresolved, and how global research efforts align with existing mechanistic gaps. Therefore, this investigation systematically evaluated scholarly trends, geographic contributions, institutional productivity, and thematic evolution to synthesize actionable insights that will guide subsequent experimental designs.</div><div>Methods: Bibliometric analysis was conducted on peer-reviewed articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (2005–2024). Analytical tools, including VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix, were employed to quantify research output, collaborative networks, citation metrics, and keyword co-occurrence patterns.</div><div>Results: Annual publication numbers exhibited exponential growth post-2015, reflecting an intensified focus on neuroinflammatory mechanisms in AD. China and the United States contributed 83.4 % of total publications, with the University of Barcelona as the most productive institution. High-impact journals such as <em>Nature</em>, <em>Nature Neuroscience</em>, and <em>Brain Behavior Immunity</em>. The analysis identified key scientific issues and evolving research fronts, with current hot topics focusing on oxidative stress, activated microglia releasing inflammatory cytokines, and abnormal autophagy-lysosome pathways.</div><div>Conclusion: The APP/PS1 mice have a significantly enhanced mechanistic understanding of neuroimmune interactions in AD pathogenesis. Future research should explore microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and brain-gut microbiome interactions to uncover novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for AD. This study offers an evidence-based framework to guide researchers using APP/PS1 mice model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 76-85"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146030396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multi-view DTI feature fusion framework for enhanced diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease","authors":"Jianping Qiao ,&nbsp;Guangchao Zhou ,&nbsp;Shaoqi Wu ,&nbsp;Hao Shang ,&nbsp;Qi Yuan ,&nbsp;Jiande Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is widely used to detect brain alterations for diagnosis, but most methods rely on single-scale information. Therefore, this study proposes the multi-view feature learning framework incorporating residual block-based 3D convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) for AD diagnosis. First, tract-based spatial statistics were applied to extract voxel-based features from fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) maps. Second, the residual block-based 3D-CNN model was employed to extract high-level deep features, enhancing model ability to capture global contextual information. Third, fiber tracking was used to construct structural connectivity networks, which served as connectivity-based features. Fourth, radiomics was applied to extract texture and shape features from FA and MD images. These four types of features were linearly combined and subsequently reduced in dimensionality using the ReliefF algorithm. Finally, an ensemble learning strategy was employed to perform three binary classification tasks among the AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal control (NC) groups. Additionally, layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) was utilized to improve the interpretability of the 3D-CNN model. Evaluated on 427 subjects from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, the framework integrates complementary multi-scale information, achieving superior performance. For the AD vs. NC classification, it attained an accuracy of 97.6%, a sensitivity of 98.0%, and an area under the curve of 0.964, outperforming several state-of-the-art methods. These results demonstrate that our approach enhances diagnostic accuracy and contributes to understanding disease mechanisms by identifying multi-scale biomarkers associated with known AD pathology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146015895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neonatal quercetin exposure reduces motor impairments and cerebellar damage in cerebral palsy rats, with different effects on males and females","authors":"Glayciele Leandro de Albuquerque ,&nbsp;Raul Manhães-de-Castro ,&nbsp;Isla Ariadny Amaral De Souza Gonzaga Paz ,&nbsp;Eulália Rebeca da Silva-Araújo ,&nbsp;Henrique José Cavalcanti Bezerra Gouveia ,&nbsp;Maria Letícia Farias Tenório ,&nbsp;Marcos Antônio da Silva Araújo ,&nbsp;Ana Elisa Toscano","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cerebral palsy (CP) comprises a group of neuromusculoskeletal disorders resulting from fetal or infant brain injury. Quercetin has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties in neurological diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of neonatal treatment with quercetin on motor development, neuronal loss, and inflammation in the cerebellum of rats subjected to CP. CP model was induced by postnatal anoxia (P0 and P1) and hindlimbs sensorimotor restriction (P2 to P28). Quercetin (10 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally from P2 to P22. Animals were analyzed for somatic growth; reflex ontogenesis; muscle strength; motor coordination; locomotor activity and gait in CatWalk; neuronal loss and inflammation in the cerebellum. Experimental CP, regardless of sex, restricted body weight gain, somatic growth, soleus muscle weight, muscle strength, motor coordination, locomotor activity and gait development, and promoted increased neuroinflammation in the cerebellum. Neonatal quercetin exposure was positive in the model of CP in males, favoring body weight gain, reducing the presence of primitive reflexes, increasing muscle strength, improving exploratory capacity in the open field, decreasing the time in the swing phase during gait, and reducing the expression of TNF in the cerebellum. In females, quercetin had a protective effect by stimulating somatic growth, favoring the regularity of steps during gait, and preventing neuronal loss in the cerebellum of CP animals. This study suggests a greater responsiveness in males compared to females, and indicates a possible protective role of quercetin in both sexes in motor development and neuroinflammation in CP models.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 86-99"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146019188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Mendelian randomization study with bioinformatics analysis reveals gut microbiota mediates in heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease via BAFF-R","authors":"Lv Zhou ,&nbsp;Zhitian Wang ,&nbsp;Ying Jiang ,&nbsp;Mengxue Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaoli Li ,&nbsp;Qingguo Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The causal relationship between heart failure (HF) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is still debated, and the mechanisms underlying AD caused by HF are still not fully understood.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study aimed to explore the potential genetic causality between HF and AD using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. The investigation was extended with mediation MR to explore the underlying genetic mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis provided additional evidence.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In our investigation, we harnessed a two-sample MR method to delineate a causal relationship between HF and AD, uncovering a significant positive association. Our results, derived from a meticulous two-step MR analysis, have shed new light on the mediating role of gut microbiota (GM) within the HF-AD interplay. Notably, we identified specific metabolic pathways with substantial correlations: a pivotal super-pathway crucial for the biosynthesis of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and the pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotides de novo biosynthesis II pathway. Our findings extend beyond the metabolic, revealing the ’BAFF-R on CD20-’ immune cells as key mediators in the GM-AD pathway. Bioinformatics analysis revealed significant enrichment of common differentially expressed genes between HF and AD in immune-related pathways.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>We present a thorough genetic analysis of the relationship between HF, AD, and the intestinal-neuroimmune interaction, emphasizing the potential of GM and immune cells as therapeutic targets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 27-37"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146044058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short-term high-fat diet impairs anterograde and retrograde memory consolidation, but not retrieval in aged rats","authors":"Bryan D. Alvarez ,&nbsp;Jayden D. Milligan ,&nbsp;Zoha H. Khan ,&nbsp;Ruth M. Barrientos","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroscience.2026.01.028","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Aging increases vulnerability to cognitive decline, and ultraprocessed diets high in saturated fat may accelerate this trajectory. Although short-term high-fat diet (HFD) exposure is known to impair memory in aged animals, the specific stages of memory most susceptible to short-term HFD remain unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study examined how short-term HFD influences anterograde consolidation, retrograde consolidation, and retrieval of long-term fear memory in aged rats. Male F344 × BN F1 rats (22–24 months) consumed chow or three days of HFD provided at distinct times relative to contextual and cued fear conditioning to isolate each memory phase. Importantly, this brief HFD protocol minimizes metabolic disturbances typically produced by longer-term diet manipulation, allowing us to isolate the effects of macronutrient composition on memory processes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Three days of HFD before or immediately after conditioning significantly impaired contextual and cued fear memory, reflecting disrupted anterograde and retrograde consolidation. In contrast, three days of HFD before retrieval had no effect on memory performance.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These findings demonstrate that short-term consumption of ultraprocessed HFD selectively impairs consolidation while sparing retrieval of hippocampal- and amygdala-dependent memory in aging. These findings are important because identifying the specific memory processes that are disrupted, rather than global memory dysfunction, helps narrow mechanistic targets and informs the development of more precise interventions to mitigate diet-related cognitive decline in aging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19142,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience","volume":"597 ","pages":"Pages 100-105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146093505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}