ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience2018
Intermittent metabolic switching, neuroplasticity and brain health.
Review in Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 300 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized-controlled Study for Evaluation of Ketogenic Metabolic Nutritional Pattern in Subjects With High-frequency Episodic Migraine
Assessment of Fuel Utilization and Circadian Rhythms in Overweight, Older Adults Following Time Restricted Eating - Phase 2 (FAR Phase 2)
Time-Restricted Eating in Alzheimer's Disease : The T.R.E.A.D Trial
Who cites it
300 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness and safety of intermittent fasting on blood pressure in adults with overweight or obesity: a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Calorie Restriction and Intermittent Fasting Regimens on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels and Cognitive Function in Humans: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Pooled it
- Dietary strategies in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients: From evidence to daily clinical practice, a systematic review.United European gastroenterology journal · 2023Pooled it
- Ketogenic interventions in mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and critical appraisal.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Fitness, physical activity, and exercise in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review on current evidence for interactions with disease activity and progression.Journal of neurology · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Nutrition on Aging-A Systematic Review Focusing on Aging-Related Biomarkers.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- A personalized plant-rich, time-restricted nutritional intervention for motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of Parkinson's disease · 2026Trial
- The Influence of Pre-Exercise Snacking on Glycemic Control, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Subjective Mood and Hunger During a 30-h Fast: A Randomized Crossover Study.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Influence of Intermittent Fasting on Body Composition, Physical Performance, and the Orexinergic System in Postmenopausal Women: A Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2025Trial
- The efficacy of DASH combined with time-restricted feeding (16/8) on metabolic associated fatty liver disease management: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition, clinical health markers and memory status in the adult population: a single-blind randomised controlled trial.Nutrition journal · 2024Trial
- Brain responses to intermittent fasting and the healthy living diet in older adults.Cell metabolism · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Twelve Weeks of Intermittent Caloric Restriction Diet Mitigates Neuroinflammation in Midlife Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study with Implications for Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Time-restricted eating with or without low-carbohydrate diet reduces visceral fat and improves metabolic syndrome: A randomized trial.Cell reports. Medicine · 2022Trial
- Home Use of Mini-Dose Glucagon As a Novel Treatment for Hypoglycemia Following Repeated, Prolonged Fasts in Type 1 Diabetes During Ramadan.Diabetes care · 2022Trial
- Effects of time-restricted eating in early-stage Huntington's disease: a pilot study.Nature metabolism · 2026Article
- Retinal neurovascular signatures in response to 6-month yoga exercise in patients with Parkinson's Disease.Parkinsonism & related disorders · 2026Article
240 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
During evolution, individuals whose brains and bodies functioned well in a fasted state were successful in acquiring food, enabling their survival and reproduction. With fasting and extended exercise, liver glycogen stores are depleted and ketones are produced from adipose-cell-derived fatty acids. This metabolic switch in cellular fuel source is accompanied by cellular and molecular adaptations of neural networks in the brain that enhance their functionality and bolster their resistance to stress, injury and disease. Here, we consider how intermittent metabolic switching, repeating cycles of a metabolic challenge that induces ketosis (fasting and/or exercise) followed by a recovery period (eating, resting and sleeping), may optimize brain function and resilience throughout the lifespan, with a focus on the neuronal circuits involved in cognition and mood. Such metabolic switching impacts multiple signalling pathways that promote neuroplasticity and resistance of the brain to injury and disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.