ReviewNutrients2021
The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Brain and Cognitive Function.
Review in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06429124 (Time-Restricted Eating in Alzheimer's Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 92 papers, 3 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.
Time-Restricted Eating in Alzheimer's Disease : The T.R.E.A.D Trial
Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comprehensive impact of Intermittent Hypoxia Training and Intermittent Fasting on metabolic and cognitive health in adults with obesity: an umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 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
- Efficacy of Nutritional Strategies on the Improvement of the Performance and Health of the Athlete: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Effect of exercise alone and in combination with time-restricted eating on cognitive health in menopausal women.Frontiers in public health · 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
- Effect of exercise alone and in combination with time-restricted eating on cardiometabolic health in menopausal women.Journal of translational medicine · 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
- Diet, the Gut Microbiome, and Mental Health: Mechanistic Perspectives.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- Modulating the Gut-Microbiota-Brain Axis in Alzheimer's Disease: Therapeutic Potential of Nutritional and Metabolic Factors.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Intermittent Fasting and the Gut Microbiota: Mechanisms Linking Microbial Remodeling to Metabolic and Immune Regulation.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Mediterranean Diet vs. Time-Restricted Eating: Effects on Circadian Rhythm and Appetite Markers in Female Patients with Multiple Sclerosis-A Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Intermittent Fasting Attenuates Cognitive Decline in D-Galactose-Induced Aging Rats in Association with β-Hydroxybutyrate and PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β Signaling.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Regulatory impact of intermittent fasting on autophagy in high fat diet induced structural and cognitive brain deteriorations in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Intermittent Fasting: Health Impacts and Therapeutic Potential.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Ferroptotic neurodegeneration and diet: a narrative review.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Interplay Between Autophagy, Cellular Senescence, and Brain Aging: Neuroprotective Implications of Intermittent Fasting.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Immune dysfunction in Alzheimer disease.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Intermittent Fasting andNutrients · 2026Article
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The importance of diet and the gut-brain axis for brain health and cognitive function is increasingly acknowledged. Dietary interventions are tested for their potential to prevent and/or treat brain disorders. Intermittent fasting (IF), the abstinence or strong limitation of calories for 12 to 48 h, alternated with periods of regular food intake, has shown promising results on neurobiological health in animal models. In this review article, we discuss the potential benefits of IF on cognitive function and the possible effects on the prevention and progress of brain-related disorders in animals and humans. We do so by summarizing the effects of IF which through metabolic, cellular, and circadian mechanisms lead to anatomical and functional changes in the brain. Our review shows that there is no clear evidence of a positive short-term effect of IF on cognition in healthy subjects. Clinical studies show benefits of IF for epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis on disease symptoms and progress. Findings from animal studies show mechanisms by which Parkinson's disease, ischemic stroke, autism spectrum disorder, and mood and anxiety disorders could benefit from IF. Future research should disentangle whether positive effects of IF hold true regardless of age or the presence of obesity. Moreover, variations in fasting patterns, total caloric intake, and intake of specific nutrients may be relevant components of IF success. Longitudinal studies and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) will provide a window into the long-term effects of IF on the development and progress of brain-related diseases.
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.