The Effects of Western-Style Diet on Attentional Set Shifting Performance MS-4 Shannon Marwitz, Lauren Woodie, & Sarah Blythe We conducted a pilot study to see if there would be differences in a set shifting task due to high fat diet exposure. We wanted to see if male Sprauge-Dawley rats were capable of performing an attentional shift before we began our primary project. Since our task will only involve a one-dimension shift we show that the rats can perform this task and that *****there is a diet difference at the one-dimension shift point in the task***** The task used a two-dimension shift near the end where there wasn’t a statistically significant interaction between diet and performance on the task. 4 ½ weeks blood test 10 weeks on diet Week 10 final glucose test, blood draw, begin to restrict food after blood draw to be at 85% bw Week 11 attention task, kept food restricted Week 12 continued attention task, food restricted, wrapped up study Biology Department, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, USA PURPOSE To explore the role of diet in the etiology of attention disorders using a rodent obesity model. BACKGROUND Obesity rates have risen from 5 to 17% in children and adolescents over the past 30 years.2 The incidence of ADHD is also rising and currently afflicts 3-10% of school age children.2 In 2012, it was found that overweight children have a twofold higher chance of developing ADHD than their normal weight counterpart.1 Past work in our lab has shown that a high-fat diet negatively impacts learning and memory in the male rats. RESEARCH PLAN & HYPOTHESIS Utilize a high-fat powder diet to induce obesity in male rats. Assess attention capabilities with an attentional set shifting task (ASST). We hypothesize that a high fat diet impairs ability to perform an attentional set shifting task. Attentional Set Shifting Task There was no interaction between diet and number of digs (p=0.177) or time spent in the tasks (p=0.751). There was significant increase in number of digs (p=0.052) and time spent in the task (p=0.033) as the tasks progressed and became more difficult. CONCLUSIONS Rats are able to perform simple set shifting tasks. Diet does not appear to impair performance on attention set-shifting. Further investigations could look at other types of attention. Discrimination Reward No Reward Simple Raffia Paper Balls Paper Balls/Celery Seed Raffia/Mint Complex Raffia/Celery Seed Paper Balls/Mint Interdimensional Shift Tulle/Coffee Cotton/Cumin Cotton/Coffee Tulle/Cumin Cotton/Cumin Reversal Tulle/Coffee Tulle/Cumin Cotton/Coffee Extradimensional Shift Cinnamon/Beads Cardamom/Styrofoam Cardamom/Beads Cinnamon/ Styrofoam 1 2 8 7 6 5 4 3 9 10 (Weeks) Animal Arrival Start Diets Diet Exposure Continues Timeline Blood Glucose Test BGT and Food Restriction Figure 1: Effects of Western-Style Diet on ASST. Attention Task References: 1. Erhart, M, et al (2012) Examining the relationship between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and overweight in children and adolescents. European Child Adolescent Psychiatry 21:39-49. 2. Waring, ME, Lapane, KL (2008) Overweight in Children and Adolescents in Relation to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Results From a National Sample. Pediatrics 122. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. I’Anson and Bev Bowring for their help. We would also like to than the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fund along with the Levy Foundation Grant and the Virginia Academy of Sciences Grant for their support