Obesity could affect learning and memory

A new study has found that obesity can impair the ability to remember and learn things.

Researchers at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University are studying how obesity can affect brains. Posted in The Journal of Neuroscience On Monday, the study found that obese rats could not complete the obstacles, as well as mice that were not obese because of dishonest immune cells.

In America, 39.8% of adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's about 93.9 million people in the United States. Around 600,000 people worldwide are obese. It is known that obesity is related to conditions such as stroke, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

For this study, scientists studied two groups of male mice: one that had received a high-fat diet and weighed 40% more than mice that ate standard foods, and another that had a normal weight. Obese rats could not escape labyrinths and non-obese rats, and they were less able to remember the position of the object.

Microscopic buttons called dendritic spines rest on nerve cells and receive signals. Obese mice had fewer dendritic spines, the important part of the brain for learning and memory, called the hippocampus. The loss of dendritic spines was apparent in many parts of the hippocampus.

The dendritic spines are destroyed because the number of microglia, which are immune cells, increases around nerve cell connections in obese mice. Researchers interfered with microglia in obese mice and found that dendritic spines were protected and mice began to improve their tests.

An aerial view shows visitors walking through a labyrinth in a tourist resort in Zunyi, China. Obese mice were also unable to complete labyrinths. STRINGER / REUTERS

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Previously, scientists have found that obesity can contribute to Alzheimer's disease. A study in February 2018 showed that obesity could be a cause of Alzheimer's disease and recommended that the prevention and treatment of obesity can be a way to avoid the disease. Other studies have linked microglia to Alzheimer's disease, including one published in December 2017. Scientists have found that microglial dysfunction is a contributing factor to the disease.

This research is beneficial because scientists could potentially create a way to prevent microglia from damaging dendritic spines, thus helping to protect humans against brain disorders that could be linked to obesity, such as Alzheimer's disease. . If they are able to stop overactive microglia in both humans and mice, there may be treatment options. Even though cognitive problems are not related to obesity, research can still help scientists develop potential solutions.