Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.04.28.065813

Effect of MIND Diet Intervention on Cognitive Performance and Brain Structure in Healthy Obese Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Arjmand, G.·Abbas-Zadeh, M.·Fardaei, M.·Tabatabaee, S. H. R.·Eftekhari, M. H.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Background and AimPrevious studies suggested adherence to recently developed Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) associated with cognitive performance. There was no prior Randomized controlled Trial (RCT) to investigate this association. This study aimed to examine the effect of MIND dietary pattern on features of cognitive performance and also changes in brain structure in healthy obese women. MethodsAs a total of 50 obese women assessed for eligibility, we randomly allocated 40 participants with mean BMI 32 {+/-} 4.31 and mean age 48 {+/-} 5.38 years to either calorie-restricted modified MIND diet or a calorie-restricted standard control diet. Change in cognitive performance was the primary outcome measured with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. We also performed voxel-based morphometry as a secondary outcome to quantify the differences in brain structure. All of the measurements administered at baseline and three months follow up. ResultsThirty-seven participants (MIND group=22 and control group=15) completed the study. The results found in the MIND diet group working memory +1.37 (95% CI: 0.79,1.95), verbal recognition memory +4.85 (95% CI: 3.30,6.40), and attention +3.75 (95% CI: 2.43,5.07) improved more compared with the control group (ps < 0.05). Results of brain MRI consists of an increase in surface area of inferior frontal gyrus in the MIND diet group. Furthermore, the results showed a decrease in the cerebellum-white matter and cerebellum-cortex in two groups of study. Still, the effect in the MIND group was greater than the control group. ConclusionsThe study findings declare for the first time that the MIND diet intervention can reverse the destructive effects of obesity on cognition and brain structure, which could be strengthened by a modest calorie restriction.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Arjmand, G., Abbas-Zadeh, M., Fardaei, M., Tabatabaee, S. H. R., Eftekhari, M. H.. 2020-04-30. Effect of MIND Diet Intervention on Cognitive Performance and Brain Structure in Healthy Obese Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.28.065813

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Novel Tau Interaction Partners as Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Alzheimers disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder leading to cognitive decline and ultimately death. One of the main hallmarks of this disease is the accumulation of pathological tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles. To better understand these pathological mechanisms, it is essential to characterize the tau protein interactome in health and disease. In this study, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screening using a human brain cDNA library, from which we identified 15 novel tau-interacting proteins that bind to full-length human tau, or its fragments: the N-terminus, microtubule-binding domain, or C-terminus. We subsequently validated these novel interactions using in vitro co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization assays with both physiological and pathological tau isoforms. Furthermore, their interactions with the human tau protein were analyzed using surface plasmon resonance. Finally, an in silico interactome analysis of these newly discovered tau-binding partners revealed several additional interactors that can link them to downstream processes critical to neurodegenerative pathways Our findings offer fresh insights into tau biology and highlight novel targets for therapeutic intervention and biomarker development.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Early visual cortex is not functionally necessary for temporal attention: A TMS study

Temporal attention enhances the selective processing of information at a specific point in time and improves perception. Previous neuroimaging studies investigating its neural mechanisms have either conflated temporal attention with temporal expectation or provided correlational evidence. Thus, whether early visual cortex is functionally necessary for temporal attention remains unknown. Here, we combined psychophysics with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to examine whether V1/V2 are functionally necessary and play a causal role in temporal attention. Observers performed an orientation-discrimination task in which two consecutive stimuli, T1 and T2, were presented in the periphery, preceded by a precue providing either valid or neutral temporal information. Double-pulse TMS was delivered under four conditions: at T1 (T1-TMS), at T2 (T2-TMS), at both T1 and T2 (both-TMS), or not at all (none-TMS), to assess its effects on temporal attention and the efficacy of the stimulation was verified by pupil size analysis. Behavioral results revealed robust temporal attention benefits on d', reaction time, and the Balanced Integration Score (BIS) across all four TMS conditions, indicating that the benefits of temporal attention were unaffected by occipital TMS. Furthermore, pupil dilation was largest in the both-TMS condition, followed by the T1-TMS and T2-TMS conditions, and smallest in the none-TMS condition, providing physiological verification of the stimulation protocol. Together, these findings reveal the first causal evidence that the early visual cortex is not functionally necessary for endogenous temporal attention.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Disentanglement of persistent and dynamic neural substrates of working memory

Competing theories of working memory have alternatively emphasized the importance of persistent and dynamic substrates of this cognitive function. Here, we directly tested these theories by computationally isolating the contributions of persistent and dynamic activity to working memory. We analyzed neuronal population activity recordings in macaques doing match/non-match working memory tasks. We first extracted signatures of persistent and dynamic activity through cue-specific temporal means, temporal principal components, and correlations of activity patterns across task epochs. We then generated synthetic data constrained by these signatures, and decoded cue stimuli from these data, separately from persistent and non-persistent neurons. We found that high decoding performance arose from a nuanced interplay of persistent and dynamic activity. Specifically, we could decode stimuli at empirical or above-chance levels across all tasks only from persistent neurons, but only after constraining correlations of activity patterns across epochs. In this way, we showed distinct roles for persistent and dynamic neuronal activity that help to unify two competing theories of working memory. More broadly, we also advanced computational controlled experiments as a principled framework for adjudicating between competing models of neuronal population activity.

neuroscience↗