Timed feeding preserves memory and brain blood flow in aged mice
In a six-month experiment, 20 aging mice with restricted feeding hours showed better memory and brain blood-vessel function than aged controls.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Preprint: experiments in 20 aged mice receiving timed feeding, against aged mice with unrestricted food access
- What changed:
- Aged mice receiving timed feeding made fewer errors on a memory test than aged controls
- The catch:
- Only 20 mice received timed feeding, with 20 aged controls
- In the record:
- One of 567 papers on time-restricted feeding on record: 179 with results in people, 120 in animals. Its result on inflammation agrees with 21 of 24 other findings on record; 3 found no change.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Male and female C57BL/6J mice underwent an experiment testing a daily feeding window during aging. Twenty mice started at 18 months, with food available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for six months. Controls were 20 mice aged 24 months and 20 aged 10 months, all with unrestricted food access.
Compared with aged controls, mice on the feeding schedule made fewer errors in a water maze testing memory and learned better. They had higher resting brain blood flow and better blood-flow responses to whisker stimulation. They also had less leakage across the blood-brain barrier, which controls what passes from blood into the brain, and less brain inflammation. Their calorie intake and body weight did not differ significantly from aged controls.
Why it matters
The authors identified changes in how blood-vessel lining cells produce energy as a central link between meal timing and resistance to brain vascular aging.
Caveats
This animal experiment does not establish whether the feeding schedule benefits people. The report is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.
- Ketone bodies
- Time-restricted feeding
- Inflammation
- Cellular senescence
- Blood-brain barrier disruption
- Mice
Time-restricted feeding is part of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint
The paper
Time-restricted feeding rejuvenates cerebrovascular function and preserves cognition during aging
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; National Institute on Aging
Research Square, Jun 2, 2026, Open access, Preprint, not yet peer-reviewed
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