Fast food, slow brain: The effect of diet on brain volume

Authors

Kayla Alder, Brigham Young University
Dr. Brock Kirwan, Brigham Young University

Keywords

fast food, slow brain, brain volume, diet

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The hippocampus is a brain structure in the medial temporal lobe that mediates the encoding of sensory information into long-term memory (Squire, Clark, & Stark, 2004). Studies have found a relationship between the volume of the hippocampus and behavioral memory tests; that is, the smaller the volume of the hippocampus, the less accurate the performance on memory tests (Rajah, Kromas, Han, & Jens, 2010). Previous research also demonstrates that a high fat and sugar (HFS) diet impairs the hippocampus and affects memory (Francis & Stevenson, 2011).

Recommended Citation

Alder, Kayla and Kirwan, Dr. Brock (2017) "Fast food, slow brain: The effect of diet on brain volume," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2017: Iss. 1, Article 101.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2017/iss1/101