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01-03-2017 | Short Communication

Exposure to a diet high in fat attenuates dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex

Authors: Paige M. Dingess, Rebecca A. Darling, E. Kurt Dolence, Bruce W. Culver, Travis E. Brown

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 2/2017

Abstract

A key factor in the development of obesity is the overconsumption of food calorically high in fat. Overconsumption of food high in fat not only promotes weight gain but elicits changes in reward processing. No studies to date have examined whether consumption of a high-fat (HF) diet alters structural plasticity in brain areas critical for reward processing, which may account for persistent changes in behavior and psychological function by reorganizing synaptic connectivity. To test whether dietary fat may induce structural plasticity we placed rats on one of three dietary conditions: ad libitum standard chow (SC), ad libitum 60 % HF (HF-AL), or calorically matched 60 % HF (HF-CM) for 3 weeks and then quantified dendritic spine density and type on basal and apical dendrites of pyramidal cells in layer V of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the nucleus accumbens. Our results demonstrate a significant reduction in the density of thin spines on the apical and basal segments of dendrites within the infralimbic, but not prelimbic, mPFC.

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Title: Exposure to a diet high in fat attenuates dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Paige M. Dingess
Rebecca A. Darling
E. Kurt Dolence
Bruce W. Culver
Travis E. Brown
Publication date: 01-03-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Brain Structure and Function / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1208-y

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Exposure to a diet high in fat attenuates dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex

Abstract

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Abstract

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