Eat Move Think

Project Name: Age-related Cognitive Changes: Effects of Combined Flavonoid
Intake and Physical Exertion Mediated by the Gut Microbiome

Age-related cognitive changes can be the first indication of the progression to dementias, such
as Alzheimer’s. These changes may be driven by a complex interaction of factors including diet,
activity levels, genetics, and environment. Recent in vivo experiments and human clinical trials
have shown that flavonoid-rich foods can inhibit neuroinflammation and enhance cognitive
performance. Improved cognition has also been correlated with a physically-active lifestyle, and
with the functionality, composition, and diversity of the gut microbiome. This NIH NIA-funded
RO1 project’s hypothesis is that the combination of flavonoid-rich diet and routine physical
activity may potentiate cognitive benefits and reduce cognitive decline in an aging population,
via mechanisms mediated by the gut microbiome. The overall result of this project will determine how dietary flavonoids (e.g. berries) and moderate physical exertion, as reasonable diet and lifestyle modifications, can impact cognitive change in the aging population via the gut microbiome.

Funded by: NIH NIA RO1

$3M

Aim 1 will examine the effects of routine flavonoid-rich blueberry intake (12-weeks), combined with or in the absence of regular moderate exercise, on cognitive function in a clinical population of older participants identified as experiencing age-related cognitive changes.

Aim 2 will investigate, using shotgun metagenomics, the extent to which observed cognitive function is associated with intervention-induced changes in the microbiome and explore synergies.

In Aim 3, the ability to abrogate the microbiome in test animals, unlike humans, will clarify its role in linking diet and physical exertion to cognition in aging brains.