Our goals are to determine the effects of lifestyle factors (exercise, diet) in brain functions and mental health in rodent models at different stages of development.
Epidemiological evidence has linked ultra-processed food consumption with mental health problems, and the risk for psychiatric disorders in adolescents. It appears to affect the prefrontal cortex development that is still maturing during adolescence and might compromise cognitive and emotional skills, and to increase the risk of developing a mood disorder during adolescence and mental health later in life. Our research interest is to investigate whether a high amount of lifelong industrial food intake impairs the prefrontal cortex functioning (structural and connectivity metrics), alters the emotional and executive function during adolescence. We also investigate whether there are changes in serotonin and tryptophan systems following industrial food and their relationship with the prefrontal cortex development, as well as emotional and cognitive functions in adolescence. The expected results will make the effects of ultra-processed food on mental health visible in terms of probable biochemical and molecular underlying mechanisms associated with serotonergic systems, and their relationship with the alterations detected in the prefrontal cortex and its related functions. Even of the limitations inherent to the preclinical model, this information is essential to inform adolescent and aged human research on this field and address future interventions to amend ultra-processed food consumption.
