A Reduction in Behavioral Pattern Separation Is Attenuated by Dietary Supplementation with a Magnesium-Rich Marine Mineral Blend in Middle-Aged Rats

Middle age is increasingly accepted as a key period during which individuals are susceptible to the effect of environmental and lifestyle factors. Emerging research indicates that dietary factors play a crucial role in brain health and cognitive function, and studies in both animals and humans have demonstrated that dietary interventions can mitigate cognitive impairment. Specifically, magnesium has been shown to enhance learning and memory, and magnesium deficiency is associated with impaired hippocampal-dependent memory formation in animal studies. The aim of this study was to examine if supplementation with a magnesium-rich marine mineral blend (MMB) could alter middle-age-related cognitive impairment. Young and middle-aged rats were given access to a control diet or an experimental diet formulated with an MMB for 4 weeks before undergoing a series of behavioral assessments. Supplementation of MMB to middle-aged rats rescued a deficit in cognitive impairment, specifically a pattern separation paradigm that is sensitive to alterations in a type of brain plasticity called neurogenesis. It had no effect on general activity in the open field or performance on other hippocampal-associated tasks. Changes in cognitive function occur as a predictable consequence of aging. Research into whether modification of dietary factors, such as this MMB, may play a role in the prevention of age-related cognitive impairment warrants further investigation.