Dietary and metabolic risk of neuropsychiatric disorders: insights from animal models

Abstract

Neuropsychiatric disorders are major causes of the global burden of diseases, frequently co-occurring with multiple comorbidities, especially obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its various risk factors in metabolic syndrome. While the determining factors of neuropsychiatric disorders are complex, recent studies have shown that there is a strong link between diet, metabolic state and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. There is no doubt that rodent models are of great value for preclinical research. Therefore, this article focuses on a rodent model of chronic consumption of high-fat diet (HFD), and/or the addition of a certain amount of cholesterol or sugar. Meanwhile, summarizes the pattern of diet that induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour and the underlying mechanism. We highlight how dietary and metabolic risk influence neuropsychiatric behaviour in animals. Changes in dietary patterns, especially HFD, can induce anxiety or depression-like behaviours, which may vary by diet exposure period, sex, age, species, and genetic background of the animals used. Furthermore, dietary patterns significantly aggravate anxiety/depression-like behaviour in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The mechanisms by which diet induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour may involve neuroinflammation, neurotransmitters/neuromodulators, neurotrophins, and the gut-brain axis. Future research should be focused on elucidating the mechanism and identifying the contribution of diet and diet-induced metabolic risk to neuropsychiatric disorders, which can form the basis for future clinical dietary intervention strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and coexisting depression, anxiety and/or stress in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, NAFLD constitutes a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is reported as the most common cause of mortality in this patient population ( 21 , 22 ). In parallel to the data highlighting NAFLD as an evolving epidemic, growing evidence also suggests direct associations between common mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and chronic stress, and the metabolic syndrome ( 23 , 24 ). Based on the strong overlap between NAFLD and the metabolic syndrome, it seems likely that such associations may also be observed in individuals with NAFLD, potentially with shared underlying mechanisms that create a feed-forward vicious cycle between NAFLD and such mental health morbidity ( 12 ).…”

Neurobiological Mechanisms Modulating Emotionality, Cognition and Reward-Related Behaviour in High-Fat Diet-Fed Rodents

“…For the behavioural level, the current literature is filled with examples in which long-term exposure to high-energy diets alters cognitive performance and modulates emotionality [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. The latter can be defined as the measure of emotional behaviour related to undirected escape, avoidance of specific stimulus or area, immobility and sympathetic nervous system activation (e.g., heart rate, urination, defecation) [ 73 ].…”

“…The latter can be defined as the measure of emotional behaviour related to undirected escape, avoidance of specific stimulus or area, immobility and sympathetic nervous system activation (e.g., heart rate, urination, defecation) [ 73 ]. However, there are numerous discrepant findings, for instance in rodent models of depression [ 69 ]. The main theoretical premise behind the inconsistencies concerns variations in experimental designs (e.g., diet content and duration, exposure period; sex, age, species and genetic background of the animals used; behavioural tests).…”

Apple polyphenol extract ameliorates sugary-diet-induced depression-like behaviors in male C57BL/6 mice by inhibiting the inflammation of the gut–brain axis

“…In animal models, high-sugar or high-fat diets can induce depression-like behaviors, although variation in effects may exist depending on the species and genetic background of the animals used. Both C57BL/6 mice and rats have been frequently used to study mental disorders induced by high-fat diets, 14 and it has been reported that high-sugar diets may trigger depression-like behaviors in rats by altering HPA axis function and remodeling the transcriptomic alterations in the hypothalamus. 15 However, the effects of high-sugar diets on depression-like behaviors in mice are scarce and need further investigation.…”