Americans consume more fructose than ever before, yet concerns remain that the sugar, used to sweeten beverages and processed foods, poses health risks. In animals, fructose-rich diets increase the production of fat and promote resistance to the energy-regulating hormone insulin. New research suggests that memory suffers as well, at least in rats.
Neuroscientist Marise B. Parent of Georgia State University and her colleagues fed 11 adolescent rats a diet in which fructose supplied 60 percent of the calories. For 10 other rats, cornstarch took the place of the sweetener. The scientists trained the rats to find a submerged platform in a pool, with the help of surrounding cues.
Two days after the training ended, Parent’s group removed the pool’s platform and recorded where the rats—now adults—swam
Whereas the control group spent most of its time around the platform’s old location, the fructose-fed rats visited this area significantly less often
clipped from: www.scientificamerican.com