The role of inflammation in mediating the effects of Western style diet on cognition and mood

Consumption of a Western style diet can impair memory and cause depressed mood. One of the ways it is thought to do this is by causing inflammation, which then affects the hippocampus (a brain region critical for both mood and memory function). However, while many animal studies have shown that Western diet consumption increases inflammation, there is only one human study to date, which is limited to older women and did not explore links to mood or memory. The current study aims to show 1) that habitual consumption of Western style diet is associated with increased inflammation and 2) that the increased inflammation mediates lower mood and poorer memory function.