Calorie restriction improves aging-induced impairment of cognitive function in relation to deregulation of corticosterone status and brain regional GABA system.

Aging is known to affect adversely the corticosterone status and the brain function including cognition. Calorie restricted (CR) diet has been found to improve brain aging. The objective of the present investigation is to study the effect of short-term CR diet without any food deprivation on aging-induced impairment of cognitive function in relation to the corticosterone status and the brain regional GABA system. The result showed that aging-induced deregulation of the brain regional GABA system, increase in plasma and adrenal corticosterone levels and cognitive impairment were attenuated with short-term CR diet supplementation for consecutive 1 and 2 months to the aged (18 and 24 months) rats. But in young rats (4 months) consumption of the same CR diet under similar conditions reversibly affected those above-mentioned parameters. These results, thus suggest that (a) aging down-regulates brain regional GABA system with an up-regulation of corticosterone status and impairment of cognitive function, (b) CR diet consumption improves this aging-induced deregulation of brain regional GABA system, corticosterone status, and cognitive function, (c) these attenuating effects of CR diet are greater with a longer period of consumption but (d) CR diet consumption is harmful to young rats as observed in those parameters.

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