Exercise and diet as modulators of cognitive function through gut microbiota

Résumé

This book sheds light on the use of exercise and nutraceuticals as therapeutic tools to improve neurodegeneration. Nutraceuticals have been shown to decrease certain diseases' biomarkers and improve motor and cognitive functions by promoting neuroplasticity. Although the exact mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects of neutraceuticals remain to be elucidated, their potent antioxidant, anti-inflamatory, neurprotective, and neuromodulatory actions are approached in this book. Finally, diet and physical exercise are two environmental factors that are related to epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of cognitive functions. Both diet and exercise are capable of triggering epigenetic regulation of gene expression; therefore, the epigenetic changes associated with dietary changes and physical exercise could be mediated by microbial activity. In this book, some relevant findings regarding the relationships between epigenetic modifications and the gut microbiota, and between epigenetics and cognitive functions, are summarized. Finally, the mediating role of epigenetics in regulating the interaction between intestinal microbiota and cognitive functions is exposed.