Interaction Between Circadian Rhythms, Energy Metabolism, and Cognitive Function

The interaction between meal timing and light regulates circadian rhythms in mammals and not only determines the sleep-wake pattern but also the activity of the endocrine system. Related with that, the necessity to fulfill energy needs is a driving force that requires the participation of cognitive skills whose performance has been shown to undergo circadian variations. These facts have led to the concept that cognition and feeding behaviour can be analysed from a chronobiological perspective. In this context, research carried out during the last two decades has evidenced the link between feeding behaviour/nutritional habits and cognitive processes, and has highlighted the impact of circadian disorders on cognitive decline. All that has allowed hypothesizing a tight relationship between nutritional factors, chronobiology, and cognition. In this connection, experimental diets containing elevated amounts of fat and sugar (high-fat diets; HFDs) have been shown to alter in rodents the circadian distribution of meals, and to have a negative impact on cognition and motivational aspects of behaviour that disappear when animals are forced to adhere to a standard temporal eating pattern. In this review, we will present relevant studies focussing on the effect of HFDs on cognitive aspects of behaviour, paying particular attention to the influence that chronobiological alterations caused by these diets may have on hippocampal-dependent cognition.