Katharina Buczek
The study’s memory test let the rats explore new objects placed in various locations. A few days later, the researchers then presented an almost identical scene to the rats but added one new item.
The rats that had eaten a junk food diet appeared unable to recall which objects they’d seen before and their locations. On the flip side, rats in the control group exhibited greater familiarity.
According to Hayes, acetylcholine signaling assists in encoding and recalling events, similar to the “episodic memory” in humans that enables us to remember past events. This signaling seems to be absent in the rats raised on fatty, sugary diets.
When it comes to humans, Professor Kanoski drew a parallel – underscoring just how critical and sensitive the adolescent period is for brain development.
“I don’t know how to say this without sounding like… doom and gloom, but unfortunately, some things that may be more easily reversible during adulthood are less reversible when they are occurring during childhood,” he said.
However, the team suggests there might be some potential for inventions. In a different phase of the study, they explored whether memory impairment in rats fed a junk food diet could be reversed with drugs that stimulate acetylcholine release.
They employed two medications – PNU-282987 and carbachol – which were administered directly to the hippocampus. This is an area of the brain crucial for memory and often impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. With these treatments, the rats showed restored memory capabilities.
Nevertheless, Professor Kanoski underscored the need for further research to fully grasp whether the adverse effects on memory from junk food during adolescence can be reversed without special medical interventions.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Brain Behavior and Immunity, visit the link here.
