Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CAN (Cognition And Nutrition)
Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2023-04-30
Accumulating evidence suggests that adhering to healthy dietary patterns and increasing the consumption of specific macro- and micro-nutrients can enable the efficiency of neural networks, improve cognitive performance, and reduce the risk and/or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in later life. Importantly, what remains to be fully understood is the specific brain regions and neural networks that are potentially mediated by nutrition. Using state of the art methodologies and technologies from the fields of nutritional epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience, nutritional cognitive neuroscience aims to advance our understanding of the beneficial effects of nutrition on the ageing brain. In terms of societal importance, as average life expectancy improves and the percentage of elderly populations expands our aging population presents significant societal and economic challenges. Of particular concern is the growing prevalence of age-related diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia). Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is one of the fastest grow age-related diseases worldwide and poses as one of the greatest health care challenges for society in terms of personal, societal and financial implications. Consequently, emphasis is being placed on preventative strategies such as nutrition to promote healthy ageing, with the aim of minimising the burden of disability and disease in later life and maximising the quality of life for individuals in their later years. The objective of the Cognition And Nutrition (CAN) project is to generate new knowledge within the field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience to better understand the ways in which aspects of brain structure and function can be supported by particular nutrients and dietary patterns. In addition, CAN will stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and bi-directional transfer of knowledge between Irish and US research centres.
The MSCA Fellow engaged in high-quality training to develop an understanding of the different tools and techniques from the fields of nutritional epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience, and to learn about their application to the field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience. Areas of training included: assessment of nutritional status (blood biomarkers and self-report); assessing cognition (intelligence, memory etc.); introduced to indices derived from structural and functional neuroimaging. The theoretical knowledge gained, and training activities completed at the outset of the fellowship were applied to research questions aimed to advance our understanding of the link between nutrition, brain health and cognitive outcomes e.g. achieved through the examination of sex differences in relationships between nutrition, brain health and cognition. Finally, the research activities performed during the fellowship to date have been communicated to the general public and member of the research community via the following communication tools: 1 press release (following notification of the awarding of the fellowship), one non-scientific/non-peer review publication as part of the Marie Curie Alumni Association Special Issue newsletter), engagement on social media, the development of webpage summarising the project and research activities, conference attendance, participation in workshops, participation in webinars and and oral presentations.
The future career prospects of the researcher have been enhanced directly and indirectly as a result of this MSCA fellowship i.e. through high-quality training, engaged with research community, and practical experience gained in analysing and interpreting dietary patterns. At the organisational level, a strong collaboration has been developed between the MSCA Fellow and colleagues at the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. While the fellowship remains on track to facilitate more precise characterisation of relationships between nutrition and cognitive and brain health, the fellowship is likely to be less impactful at the systems level than originally anticipated.
In terms of expected results, the knowledge and skills gained by the researcher will be used to interrogate existing data at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland at a more in-depth level. The assessment of dietary patterns using nutritional biomarker pattern analysis will be a valuable addition to the nutritional epidemiology methods used at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland. Moreover, we will be the first group of researchers in the field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience to examine nutrient biomarker patterns in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (using data previously collected by the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland). This in turn will provide a pathway for the MSCA Fellow to formulate new research hypotheses and begin to establish her independence as a future scientific leader, as well as stimulating interdisciplinary collaboration and bi-directional transfer of knowledge between both Irish and US research centres.
To date, state-of-the-art tools from the field of nutritional epidemiology have been used effectively to establish relationships between nutrition and cognitive health. However, understanding the true benefit of nutrition on cognitive health requires the integration of neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience can enable the efficiency (how well information is communicated) of individual brain networks to be examined, as well as the opportunity to investigate how dietary patterns may impact different trajectories of structural and function decline of the brain. This in turn may lead to the identification of particular properties of nutrition and particular properties of the brain that are influencing observed benefits on cognitive performance. Ultimately, the interdisciplinary field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience offers a novel perspective of discovering the ways in which aspects of brain structure and function can be supported by particular nutrients and dietary patterns. This will have profound implications for understanding healthy brain aging and for treating age-related neurological disease, as well as improving the precision of nutritional interventions that will inform future research practices.
In terms of expected results, the knowledge and skills gained by the researcher will be used to interrogate existing data at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland at a more in-depth level. The assessment of dietary patterns using nutritional biomarker pattern analysis will be a valuable addition to the nutritional epidemiology methods used at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland. Moreover, we will be the first group of researchers in the field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience to examine nutrient biomarker patterns in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease (using data previously collected by the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland). This in turn will provide a pathway for the MSCA Fellow to formulate new research hypotheses and begin to establish her independence as a future scientific leader, as well as stimulating interdisciplinary collaboration and bi-directional transfer of knowledge between both Irish and US research centres.
To date, state-of-the-art tools from the field of nutritional epidemiology have been used effectively to establish relationships between nutrition and cognitive health. However, understanding the true benefit of nutrition on cognitive health requires the integration of neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience can enable the efficiency (how well information is communicated) of individual brain networks to be examined, as well as the opportunity to investigate how dietary patterns may impact different trajectories of structural and function decline of the brain. This in turn may lead to the identification of particular properties of nutrition and particular properties of the brain that are influencing observed benefits on cognitive performance. Ultimately, the interdisciplinary field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience offers a novel perspective of discovering the ways in which aspects of brain structure and function can be supported by particular nutrients and dietary patterns. This will have profound implications for understanding healthy brain aging and for treating age-related neurological disease, as well as improving the precision of nutritional interventions that will inform future research practices.