Effects of MIND diet adherence on Cognitive Performance and Biomarkers of Brain Health

Project Outline:

Over recent years, research has shifted towards studying the impact of modifiable lifestyle factors such as dietary interventions and physical activity on Alzheimer’s Disease risk reduction. In particular, three dietary patterns have been studied with respect to cognitive decline and brain health; Mediterranean diet (MeDi), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and a hybrid of the DASH and MeDi diets, the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet.

This study will investigate the relationship of MIND diet adherence to cognitive performance, rates of cognitive decline, and neuroimaging biomarkers of brain health, to establish the potential of this diet to slow, or ideally prevent AD onset, utilizing longitudinal data from the Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of Ageing and the Australian multidomain Approach to Reduce dementia Risk by protecting brain health With lifestyle intervention study (AU-ARROW) a 24-month multimodal lifestyle intervention.

Project Area: Medical Science (Neuroscience)

School / Research Centre / Institute : School of Medical and Health Sciences research

Supervisor(s): Dr Samantha Gardener, Professor Ralph Martins, Associate Professor Stephanie Rainey-Smith (Murdoch)

Project level: Masters and PhD

Funding: Applicant should apply for ECUHDR or RTP Scholarship

Start date: Ongoing