Chronic curcumin treatment improves spatial working memory but not recognition memory in middle-aged rhesus monkeys.
Tara L MooreBethany BowleyPenny ShultzSamantha CalderazzoEli ShobinRonald J KillianyDouglas L RoseneMark B MossPublished in: GeroScience (2017)
Studies of both humans and non-human primates have demonstrated that aging is typically characterized by a decline in cognition that can occur as early as the fifth decade of life. Age-related changes in working memory are particularly evident and mediated, in part, by the prefrontal cortex, an area known to evidence age-related changes in myelin that is attributed to inflammation. In recent years, several nutraceuticals, including curcumin, by virtue of their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, have received considerable attention as potential treatments for age-related cognitive decline and inflammation. Accordingly, we assessed for the first time in a non-human primate model of normal aging the efficacy of dietary intervention using the natural phenol curcumin to ameliorate the effects of aging on spatial working and recognition memory. Results revealed that monkeys receiving daily administration of curcumin over 14-18 months demonstrated a greater improvement in performance on repeated administration of a task of spatial working memory compared to monkeys that received a control substance.
Keyphrases
- working memory
- cognitive decline
- oxidative stress
- endothelial cells
- anti inflammatory
- mild cognitive impairment
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- prefrontal cortex
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- middle aged
- randomized controlled trial
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- pluripotent stem cells
- white matter
- physical activity
- risk assessment
- multiple sclerosis
- smoking cessation