Effect of time-restricted eating on neurovascular coupling response in older adults: A pilot trial

Description

Aging results in significant impairment of cerebromicrovascular endothelial function, which promotes neurovascular coupling (NVC) dysfunction and is linked to the genesis of cognitive decline. Time-restricted eating (TRE) can improve macrovascular endothelial function, but its effect on cerebrovascular function remains unclear. We hypothesized that TRE can improve NVC responses in older adults. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measurements were performed using a NIRScout platform (NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, NY, USA). The system was equipped with 16 sources (F3, AF7, AF3, Fz, Fpz, AF4, F4, AF8, FC6, C4, FC2, CP2, FC1, CP1, C3, FC5) emitting light at two different wavelengths (760 and 850 nm) and 16 photodetectors (F5, F1, Fp1, AFz, F2, Fp2, F6, AFF6h, C6, CC4, CP4, C2, C1, FC3, CP3, C5). This dataset was collected for a pilot study that explored the relationship between TRE and NVC response in healthy older adults. The heatmap of the distribution of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in the cortical tissues during a working memory task (N-back task) indicated significant improvements in NVC response in the prefrontal and mortor cortices after 6 months of TRE. Further features of fNIRS data could be explored to gain insight into what parameters of cerebral hemodynamics are most sensitive to fasting and the relationship between time-restricted eating and functional connectivity in the frontal cortex. However, the following limitations must be noted: (1) this pilot study included a small sample size (n=6), and (2) this dataset does not include data on neuronal networks, which is another component of the neurovascular unit.

Steps to reproduce

A 128-port Easycap headcap (Easycap GmbH, Woerthsee-Etterschlag, Germany) was positioned over the head to cover the area of the international 10-10 system. The line between Fpz and Iz ports on the headcap was aligned with the sagittal plane of the head, and the optode in the Fpz position of the cap was aligned with Fpz on the subject. The cap was set up with custom spacers that limit the variability of distance between optodes to an average source-detector separation of 3 cm. The placement of optodes covered the prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and also included the medial motor cortex. Sufficient coverage of these regions was determined by projection of channel position to the cortical surface within the Montreal Neurological Institute coordinate space. To evoke neurovascular (NVC) responses during fNIRS recording, we used the N-back task, as described in Mukli et al. (doi:10.1002/advs.202303516). Measurements were carried out before and after 6 months of TRE in the Translational Geroscience Laboratory of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in a quiet and dark room. Dataset information: Raw intensity data and meta-information from near-infrared spectroscopy measurements before and after TRE as .wl1 and .wl2 files (ASCII text file, tabulated data). .wl1 files refer to near-infrared light intensities measured at 760 nm. wl2 files refer to near-infrared light intensities measured at 850 nm Meta-information about the measurement: marker positions, channel layout, basic demographic info (age and sex), and other details are described in txt files and shared as ASCII text format (following file extension: .evt, .hdr, .tpl, .inf, .set) MAT files contain information about montage, probe, channel layout and can be viewed in MATLAB. These files are recommended for analysis with AnalyzIR toolbox of MATLAB (doi: 10.3390/a11050073). This information is also provided in the study description and ASCII text files as mentioned above. The recommended software for data analysis is MATLAB (version 2016 or newer) with Wavelet Toolbox and AnalyzIR toolbox (doi: 10.3390/a11050073). We also recommend preprocessing of the data for artifact removal.

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