Dietary intervention with branched-chain amino acids—precursors for de novo glutamate synthesis—improves sleep disturbances after brain injury in mice, in part through activation of orexin neurons. Mild brain injury in mice caused a persistent inability to maintain wakefulness and decreased orexin neuron activation during wakefulness. Feeding mice a dietary supplement of branched-chain amino acids reinstated activation of orexin neurons and improved wake deficits in these animals.
References
Lim, M. M. et al. Dietary therapy mitigates persistent wake deficits caused by mild traumatic brain injury. Sci. Transl. Med. 5, 215ra173 (2013)
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Cognitive rehabilitation after brain injury through diet. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10, 128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.270
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.270