Short-term high-fat diet alters the mouse brain magnetic resonance imaging parameters consistently with neuroinflammation on males and metabolic rearrangements on females. A pre-clinical study with an optimized selection of linear mixed-effects models.

Introduction: High-fat diet (HFD) consumption is known to trigger an inflammatory response in the brain that prompts the dysregulation of energy balance, leads to insulin and leptin resistance, and ultimately obesity. Obesity, at the same, has been related to cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) alterations, but the onset of HFD-induced neuroinflammation, however, has been principally reported on male rodents and by methods, with the effects on females and the origin of MRI changes remaining unassessed.

Methods: We characterized the onset and evolution of obesity on male and female mice during standard or HFD administration by physiological markers and multiparametric MRI on four cerebral regions involved in appetite regulation and energy homeostasis.