Obesity diminishes synaptic markers, alters microglial morphology, and impairs cognitive function.

ABSTRACT: Obesity is a major public health problem affecting overall physical and emotional well-being. Despite compelling data suggesting an association between obesity and cognitive dysfunction, this phenomenon has received relatively little attention. Neuroimaging studies in obese humans report reduced size of brain regions involved in cognition, but few studies have investigated the cellular processes underlying cognitive decline in obesity or the influence of obesity on cognition in the absence of obesity-related illnesses. Here, a rat model of diet-induced obesity was used to explore changes in brain regions important for cognition. Obese rats showed deficits on cognitive tasks requiring the prefrontal and perirhinal cortex. Cognitive deficits were accompanied by decreased dendritic spine dens

SUBMITTER: Bocarsly ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4697408 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature