Stevenson, Richard J, Francis, Heather M, Attuquayefio, Tuki, Gupta, Dolly, Yeomans, Martin R, Oaten, Megan J and Davidson, Terry (2020) Hippocampal-dependent appetitive control is impaired by experimental exposure to a Western-style diet. Royal Society Open Science, 7 (2). ISSN 2054-5703

Abstract

Animals fed a Western-style diet (WS-diet) demonstrate rapid impairments in hippocampal function and poorer appetitive control. We examined if this also occurs in humans. One-hundred and ten healthy lean adults were randomised to either a 1-week WS-diet intervention or a habitual-diet control group. Measures of hippocampal dependent learning and memory (HDLM) and of appetitive control were obtained pre- and post-intervention. HDLM was retested at 3-weeks follow-up. Relative to controls, HDLM performance declined in the WS-diet group (d=0.43), but was not different at follow-up. Appetitive control also declined in the WS-diet group (d=0.47) and this was strongly correlated with HDLM decline (d=1.01). These findings demonstrate that a WS-diet can rapidly impair appetitive control in humans - an effect that could promote overeating in consumers of a WS-diet. The study also suggests a functional role for the hippocampus in appetitive control and provides new evidence for the adverse neurocognitive effects of a WS-diet.

Item Type: Article Keywords: Inhibition, Appetite, Ingestive behaviour, Western-style diet Schools and Departments: School of Psychology > Psychology Depositing User: Sanjeedah Choudhury Date Deposited: 28 Jan 2020 08:47 Last Modified: 26 Feb 2020 11:00 URI: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/89619

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