Higher Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Preserved White Matter Integrity and Altered Structural Connectivity

• Main Authors: Belina Rodrigues, Ana Coelho, Carlos Portugal-Nunes, Ricardo Magalhães, Pedro Silva Moreira, Teresa Costa Castanho, Liliana Amorim, Paulo Marques, José Miguel Soares, Nuno Sousa, Nadine Correia Santos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-08-01
• Series: Frontiers in Neuroscience
• Subjects: Mediterranean diet adherence; structural connectivity; white matter integrity; Mediterranean Diet Assessment Screener; healthy aging
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2020.00786/full

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been associated with cognitive performance. Yet, controlled trials have yielded contradictory results. To tackle this controversy, a comprehensive multimodal analysis of the association of the MedDiet with cognitive performance and brain structure in normative aging is still necessary. Here, community dwellers ≥50 years from a cohort study on normative aging (n = 76) underwent a (i) magnetic resonance imaging session with two acquisitions: structural and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI); (ii) neuropsychological battery of tests focusing on memory and executive functioning; and (iii) dietary assessment through the Mediterranean Diet Assessment Screener (MEDAS, score range: 0–14, scores ≥10 indicate high adherence to the Mediterranean diet) 18 months prior to the brain imaging and neuropsychological assessment. We found that high adherence to the MedDiet (MEDAS ≥10) was associated with higher values of fractional anisotropy and lower diffusivity values in the brain white matter. Similarly, high adherence to the MedDiet was associated with higher structural connectivity between left hemisphere brain regions. Specifically, the amygdala, lingual, olfactory, middle occipital gyrus, and calcarine areas. No association was found between high adherence to the MedDiet and total brain volumes or hypointensities. Higher adherence to the MedDiet was positively associated with executive functioning scores. These results suggest that high adherence to the MedDiet positively associates with brain health, specifically with executive function scores and white matter integrity of bundles related to the processing and integration of taste, reward, and decision making. These findings seem to support the view that the MedDiet should be part of recommendations to promote a healthy brain.