Background
Recent evidence identifies the hippocampus, a brain structure commonly associated with learning and memory, as key to the regulation of food intake and the development and consequences of obesity. Intake of a high fat diet (HFD)
Conclusions
These results provide evidence for a distinct response in specific functional regions of the hippocampus following acute HFD intake.
Results
Acute intake of HFD resulted in higher serum levels of leptin and cholesterol, with no significant changes in final body weight or adipose tissue mass. In the dorsal hippocampus, transcription of the neuroprotective peptide galanin was significantly upregulated along with a trend for an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and histone deacetylase 2 in the rats fed HFD. In the ventral hippocampus, there was a significant increase in histone deacetylase 4 and a decrease in galanin receptor 1 in this group. Results from immunohistochemistry validate strong presence of the galanin peptide in the CA1/CA2 region of the dorsal hippocampus. Conclusions: These results provide evidence for a distinct response in specific functional regions of the hippocampus following acute HFD intake.