<p>A newly published study in the Journal of Brain, Behaviour and Immunity has shown for the first time that rats fed a diet high in sugar had impaired cognitive abilities after only one week.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The research by Jessica Beilharz, Jayanthi Maniam and Margaret Morris from the University of New South Wales was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“What is so surprising about this research is the speed with which the deterioration of the cognition occurred,” says Professor Morris, from the School of Medical Sciences, in a press release. “Our preliminary data also suggests that the damage is not reversed when the rats are switched back to a healthy diet, which is very concerning.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Even a relatively short exposure to diets rich in sugar can have a detrimental effect on spatial memory. The change in the animals' memory appeared even before any weight differences were observed. The impaired rats also had inflammation of the hippocampal region of the brain, which is associated with spatial memory. Other parts of memory, including object recognition, were unaffected.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Current research is attempting to establish how to stop the observed inflammation in the brain of animals with unhealthy diets.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“Given that high energy foods can impair the function of the hippocampus, if you eat a lot of them it may contribute to weight gain, by interfering with your episodic memory,” says Professor Morris. “People might be less aware of their internal cues like hunger pangs and knowing when they have had enough.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/junk-food-can-harm-memory-week" target="_new"> University of New South Wales </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
