October 31, 2020
Episode 114: Lilianne Mujica-Parodi Talks About How Diet And Ketones Affect Brain Aging | STEM-Talk
Key Takeaways
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can detect abnormalities in the brain that cannot be detected with other imaging techniques
- Early behavioral changes (such as nutrition and exercise) allow you to improve your risk profile for cancer, heart disease, and dementia
- Two key factors linked to age-based cognitive impairment: insulin resistance and glucose hypometabolism
- Brain networks start to deteriorate in the late 40s
- In just one week, fMRI data revealed profound changes of how the brain responds to the ketogenic diet versus Standard American Diet (SAD)
- Administered ketones provide increased efficiency in communication between brain networks
- Individuals who have difficulty following ketogenic diet can benefit from exogenous ketones
Introduction
Dr. Lilianne Mujica-Parodi is Director of the Laboratory for Computational Neurodiagnostics at Stony Brook University. Dr. Mujica-Parodi’s research focuses on the application of neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI) for neurological and psychiatric disorders.
In this episode of STEM-Talk, Dawn and special co-host Ken Ford sit down with Dr. Lilianne Mujica-Parodi to discuss neurobiological changes associated with aging and the impact of lifestyle approaches and diet to preventing and possibly reversing cognitive decline with age.
Host: Dawn Kernagis (@DawnKernagis)
Shortcomings of Neuroimaging Tools
- It was believed that neuroimaging tools (e.g., MRI) had the potential to benefit neurology the same way the echocardiogram changed the course of cardiology
- Neuroimaging is broadly distinguished as either anatomical or functional
- Anatomical modalities ask what a system looks like and geographic features
- Functional modalities focus on how the system responds to a stimulus
- Neuroimaging was originally developed as an outgrowth of neurology and lesion studies
- Lesions and tumors are examples of injuries but most psychology and psychiatry is based on disease
- The physics of neuroimaging wasn’t originally very good and didn’t allow for a systems approach
- There isn’t always a part of the brain that’s damaged, instead, communication and regulatory processes are not functioning properly
- Neuroimaging is great for mapping but not necessarily showing changes present in disease
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Technology and Its Potential Clinical Uses
- fMRI can detect abnormalities in the brain that cannot be detected with other imaging techniques
- Uses: evaluate small changes in blood flow associated with brain activity, evaluate the brain’s functional anatomy, study effects of stroke, and guide treatment
- fMRI allows researchers and clinicians to introduce something in the scanner (such as a game or puzzle) and see how the brain responds in a natural state
Aging and The Brain
- There are behavioral changes you can address early on to improve the risk profile for cancer, heart disease, and dementia
- Two key factors linked to age-based cognitive impairment: insulin resistance and glucose hypometabolism
- The deterioration of the brain is accelerated by insulin resistance
- Hypometabolism: over time the brain loses the ability to effectively metabolize glucose
- As people become older, the brain begins to atrophy
- Networks start to destabilize in the late 40s
Effect of Keto Diet on The Brain
- Keto diet has been shown to modulate disease and autoimmune system
- fMRI data revealed profound changes in how the brain responds to the ketogenic diet versus Standard American Diet (SAD) – even at one week
- The brain is a greedy consumer of fuel so it doesn’t take much deprivation to observe changes
- Ketones improve cognitive performance and brain function, even in a deprivation state
- Communication between brain regions became more stable compared to SAD
- The signature for brain aging was reversed in individuals on a ketogenic diet
- For individuals given glucose without ketones, networks re-stabilized even if they were hyperglycemic
- Ketones appear to override the impact of glucose
- Benefits appear to be more largely attributed to the addition of ketones than removal of glucose
- Individuals who have difficulty following a ketogenic diet can benefit from exogenous ketones
- Ketones provide greater energy to cells than glucose, even when calorically matched
- Ketones are not just correcting for a lack of energy
- Administered ketones provide increased efficiency in communication between networks
- Ketosis happening in the blood and the brain are not identical processes
- People enter ketosis in the brain before they go into ketosis in the rest of the body
- Research Paper: Diet Modulates Brain Network Stability, A Biomarker For Brain Aging, In Young Adults by Lilianne R. Mujica-Parodi et. al.
