Dear Colleagues,

In modern societies, humans have evolved from physically active hunter-gatherers with a diet rich in fibers but low in sugar to sedentary persons with low physical activity and easy access to extremely rich food. If a modification of diet composition during evolution might have contributed to the expansion of human brain mass and complexity, the recent changes in diet (e.g., more sugar, more fat) might explain in part the increasing prevalence of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. At the same time, medical and social progress has led to an extension of lifespan, but with a rising prevalence of age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases. Studies in humans report that metabolic disorders (such as obesity or insulin resistance) are often comorbidities of cognitive declines and could be considered as risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases.

Gut microbiota, which stand at the interface between the environment and the organism, have also been extensively associated with energy homeostasis and metabolic control, in particular in relation to the effects of microbial metabolites on the gut–brain axis. More precisely, gut microbiota have a major impact on digestive efficiency and on the nutrients that are rendered available for energy homeostasis. It is well described that gut microbiota composition is flexible, in particular, in response to food composition, and, in turn, how the loss of intestinal microbial diversity is detrimental to energy balance and mental health.

This Special Issue will review current advances in the field of energy and metabolic regulations in relation to nutrition, with a specific emphasis on the role of gut microbiota. The focus will be on the effects of nutrition on brain function, and more specifically on the mechanisms that underline the neurodegeneration process. Contributions to both animal models and/or humans, as well as evolutionary perspectives, are encouraged.

Dr. Fabien Pifferi
Dr. Jérémy Terrien
Guest Editors

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• aging
• nutrition
• metabolism
• energy balance
• behavior
• cognition
• brain
• neurodegeneration
• neuroinflammation
• environment
• microbiota
• development
• season
• flexibility