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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access published online on May 6, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, doi:10.1093/gerona/glp060
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Influence of Calorie Restriction on Measures of Age-Related Cognitive Decline: Role of Increased Physical Activity

Christy S. Carter1,2,3, Christiaan Leeuwenburgh1, Michael Daniels4 and Thomas C. Foster3

1 Division of the Biology of Aging, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, Institute on Aging, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
2 Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville
3 Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
4 Departments of Statistics and Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Liberal Arts and Science, University of Florida, Gainesville

Address correspondence to Christy S. Carter, PhD, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, College of Medicine, University of Florida, 210 East Mowry Road, Gainesville, FL 32610. Email: ccarter{at}aging.ufl.edu


  Abstract

Controversy exists as to whether lifelong 40% calorie restriction (CR) enhances, has no effect on, or disrupts cognitive function during aging. Here, we report the effects of CR versus ad-lib feeding on cognitive function in male Brown Norway x Fisher344 rats across a range of ages (8–38 months), using two tasks that are differentially sensitive to age-related cognitive decline: object recognition and Morris water maze (MWM). All ages performed equally in object recognition, whereas, as a group, CR rats were impaired. In contrast, there was an age-related impairment in the MWM that was attenuated by CR as measured by time in proximity with and latency to reach the platform. Distance to the platform, a more sensitive measure, was not affected by CR. Finally, CR resulted in an overall increase in physical activity, one of several behavioral confounders to consider in the interpretation of cognitive outcomes in both tasks.

Keywords Morris water maze; Object recognition; Animal models of aging; Calorie restriction

Received: August 18, 2008; Accepted: March 18, 2009

Decision Editor: Huber R. Warner, PhD


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