Sussman Dafna, Germann Jurgen, Henkelman Mark
Physiology and Experimental Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mouse Imaging Center (MICe), The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Brain Behav. 2015 Feb;5(2):e00300. doi: 10.1002/brb3.300. Epub 2014 Dec 29.
The ketogenic diet (KD) has seen an increase in popularity for clinical and non-clinical purposes, leading to rise in concern about the diet's impact on following generations. The KD is known to have a neurological effect, suggesting that exposure to it during prenatal brain development may alter neuro-anatomy. Studies have also indicated that the KD has an anti-depressant effect on the consumer. However, it is unclear whether any neuro-anatomical and/or behavioral changes would occur in the offspring and persist into adulthood.
To fill this knowledge gap we assessed the brain morphology and behavior of 8-week-old young-adult CD-1 mice, who were exposed to the KD in utero, and were fed only a standard-diet (SD) in postnatal life. Standardized neuro-behavior tests included the Open-Field, Forced-Swim, and Exercise Wheel tests, and were followed by post-mortem Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to assess brain anatomy.
The adult KD offspring exhibit reduced susceptibility to anxiety and depression, and elevated physical activity level when compared with controls exposed to the SD both in utero and postnatally. Many neuro-anatomical differences exist between the KD offspring and controls, including, for example, a cerebellar volumetric enlargement by 4.8%, a hypothalamic reduction by 1.39%, and a corpus callosum reduction by 4.77%, as computed relative to total brain volume.
These results suggest that prenatal exposure to the KD programs the offspring neuro-anatomy and influences their behavior in adulthood.
生酮饮食（KD）在临床和非临床领域的应用日益广泛，这引发了人们对其对后代影响的担忧。已知生酮饮食具有神经学效应，这表明在产前脑发育期间接触该饮食可能会改变神经解剖结构。研究还表明，生酮饮食对食用者具有抗抑郁作用。然而，尚不清楚后代是否会出现任何神经解剖学和/或行为变化并持续至成年。
为填补这一知识空白，我们评估了8周龄的成年CD-1小鼠的脑形态和行为，这些小鼠在子宫内接触了生酮饮食，出生后仅喂食标准饮食（SD）。标准化的神经行为测试包括旷场试验、强迫游泳试验和运动轮试验，随后进行死后磁共振成像（MRI）以评估脑解剖结构。
与在子宫内和出生后都接触标准饮食的对照组相比，成年期接触生酮饮食的后代对焦虑和抑郁的易感性降低，身体活动水平升高。生酮饮食后代与对照组之间存在许多神经解剖学差异，例如，相对于全脑体积计算，小脑体积增大4.8%，下丘脑体积减小1.39%，胼胝体体积减小4.77%。
这些结果表明，产前接触生酮饮食会影响后代的神经解剖结构，并影响其成年后的行为。
