Intermittent Fasting and Hippocampal Biochemistry
Researchers here show that intermittent fasting in older rats beneficially alters one narrow measure of function in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is well-studied in connection with age-related cognitive decline:
Diminished glucocorticoid signaling is associated with an age-related decline in hippocampal functioning. In this study we demonstrate the effect of intermittent, every other day (EOD) feeding on the glucocorticoid hormone/glucocorticoid receptor (GR) system in the hippocampus of middle-aged (18-month-old) and aged (24-month-old) Wistar rats.In aged ad libitum-fed rats, a decrease in the level of total GR and phosphorylated GR (pGR) was detected. Conversely, aged rats subjected to EOD feeding, starting from 6 months of age, showed an increase in GR and pGR levels and a higher content of hippocampal corticosterone. Furthermore, prominent nuclear staining of pGR was observed in CA1 pyramidal and dentate gyrus granule neurons of aged EOD-fed rats. These changes were accompanied by increased Sgk-1 and decreased GFAP transcription, pointing to upregulated transcriptional activity of GR. EOD feeding also induced an increase in the expression of the mineralocorticoid receptor.
Our results reveal that intermittent feeding restores impaired GR signaling in the hippocampus of aged animals by inducing rather than by stabilizing GR signaling during aging.