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

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.

随着年龄的增长，脑微血管内皮功能的显著损害推动了神经血管偶联（NVC）功能障碍，并与认知衰退的起源密切相关。限食时间（TRE）能够改善大血管内皮功能，但其对脑血管功能的影响尚不明确。本研究假设，限食时间（TRE）可以改善老年人的NVC反应。功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）测量采用NIRScout平台（NIRx Medical Technologies LLC，纽约，美国）进行。该系统配备16个光源（F3, AF7, AF3, Fz, Fpz, AF4, F4, AF8, FC6, C4, FC2, CP2, FC1, CP1, C3, FC5），分别发射两种不同波长的光（760 nm和850 nm）以及16个光电探测器（F5, F1, Fp1, AFz, F2, Fp2, F6, AFF6h, C6, CC4, CP4, C2, C1, FC3, CP3, C5）。本数据集是为一项探索限食时间（TRE）与NVC反应在健康老年人之间关系的试点研究而收集的。在执行工作记忆任务（N-back任务）期间，皮层组织中氧合血红蛋白（HbO）分布的热图显示，在限食时间（TRE）6个月后，前额叶和运动皮层的NVC反应有显著改善。此外，fNIRS数据的进一步特征分析有助于深入了解哪些脑血流动力学参数对禁食最为敏感，以及限食时间与额叶皮层功能连接之间的关系。然而，必须指出以下局限性：（1）这项试点研究样本量较小（n=6），（2）本数据集不包括神经元网络数据，而神经元网络是神经血管单元的另一个组成部分。