Diet-Induced Neuroinflammation: Microgliosis Due to Binge Eating

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS). In the basal state, microglia exhibit ramified morphology and are often characterized by numerous, long dynamic processes that serve as constant surveillance within the neural parenchyma. Persistent and prolonged activation of microglia has been observed in several neurodegenerative diseases and has been identified as a potential cause of neural dysfunction. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that consumption of a high fat diet can lead to obesity and several neurodegenerative diseases.A potential cause of diet-induced cognitive impairment is microglial inflammation. There are complex interactions between food intake and microglial activation that have not yet been studied in depth. In the present study, we evaluated microgliosis in the cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus for female Sprague Dawley rats fed a high fat diet on an intermittent access schedule (binge eating). Our initial qualitative data reveals differences in microglial activation in the cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus for binge eating female rats fed a high fat diet