Long term Westernized diet leads to region-specific changes in brain signaling mechanisms

Western diets, high in fat and energy, are associated with cognitive deficits in humans and animal models, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. This includes whether diet-induced dyslipidemia per se negatively impacts brain signaling. Here we investigate the effects of dyslipidemia induced by two high fat diets with or without high sucrose on hippocampal and frontal cortical oxidative stress, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and down-stream markers of synaptic plasticity, as well as alterations in monoaminergic neurotransmitter levels. A high fat diet was associated with decreased antioxidant status (vitamin C), increased serotonin in the frontal cortex, and increased ratio of phosphorylated Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in the hippocampus, while a high fat and sucrose diet decreased levels of vitamin C in the frontal cortex and BDNF in the hippocampus. Markers of dyslipidemia correlated significantly with cerebral vitamin C levels, monoaminergic neurotransmitters and metabolites in the frontal cortex, but not in the hippocampus. Thus, a high fat diet caused regional alterations in antioxidant levels, neurochemistry and molecular markers in the non-obese dyslipidemic guinea pig.