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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Autonomic Neuroscience
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1465568
This article is part of the Research Topic Fatigue: Physiology and Pathology, Volume II View all articles

Dual-Factor Model of Sleep and Diet: A New Approach to Understanding Central Fatigue

Provisionally accepted
Yifei Zhang Yifei Zhang Zehan Zhang Zehan Zhang Qingqian Yu Qingqian Yu *Bijuan Lan Bijuan Lan *Qinghuan Shi Qinghuan Shi *Liu Yan Liu Yan *Weiyue Zhang Weiyue Zhang *Feng Li Feng Li *
  • Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Numerous studies have recently examined the impact of dietary factors such as high-fat diets on fatigue. Our study aims to investigate whether high-fat diet (HFD) alone or combined with alternate-day fasting (ADF) can lead to the central fatigue symptoms and to investigate the potential integration of dietary and sleep variables in the development of central fatigue models. Methods: Seventy-five male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control, HFD, HFD+ADF, modified multiple platform method (MMPM), and MMPM+HFD+ADF. Each group underwent a 21-day modeling period according to their respective protocol. Their behavioral characteristics, fatigue biochemical markers, hippocampal pathological changes, mitochondrial ultrastructure, and oxidative stress damage were analyzed. Results: Our findings demonstrate that using only HFD did not cause central fatigue, but combining it with ADF did. This combination led to reduced exercise endurance, decreased locomotor activity, impaired learning and memory abilities, along with alterations in serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), and lactate (LAC), as well as hippocampal pathological damage and other central fatigue symptoms. Moreover, the MMPM+HFD+ADF method led to the most obvious central fatigue symptoms in rats, including a variety of behavioral changes, alterations in fatigue-related biochemical metabolic markers, prominent pathological changes in hippocampal tissue, severe damage to the ultrastructure of mitochondria in hippocampal regions, changes in neurotransmitters, and evident oxidative stress damage. Additionally, it was observed that rats subjected to HFD+ADF, MMPM, and MMPM+HFD+ADF modeling method exhibited significant brain oxidative stress damage. Conclusion: We have demonstrated the promotive role of dietary factors in the development of central fatigue and have successfully established a more stable and clinically relevant animal model of central fatigue by integrating dietary and sleep factors.

    Keywords: central fatigue, high-fat diet, alternate-day fasting, animal model, Rats, Oxidative Stress, cognitive function alterations

    Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 23 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Zhang, Yu, Lan, Shi, Yan, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Qingqian Yu, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
    Bijuan Lan, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
    Qinghuan Shi, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
    Liu Yan, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
    Weiyue Zhang, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
    Feng Li, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.