# Adipose Tissue Distribution Determines Microglial Regulation of Hippocampal Plasticity

> **NIH NIH R01** · AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $342,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Although some human studies suggest that obesity impairs memory and cognition, this finding is not consistent and other
groups have failed to find similar associations. Because the ‘apple-shaped’ anatomical pattern that accompanies visceral
obesity has different physiological consequences than the 'pear-shaped' distribution that reflects subcutaneous adiposity,
the variable cognitive outcomes reported in obese humans may be due to the use of weight/height ratios to define obesity.
Visceral obesity is accompanied by peripheral inflammation and impairs memory, while subcutaneous adiposity does not
activate the innate immune system and may protect against obesity-induced cognitive dysfunction. Resident microglia in
the central nervous system represent the first line of defense against inflammation, and microglial activation in impairs
synaptic plasticity and cognition in other disease models. Microglia regulate neuronal plasticity via receptor-mediated
signaling and physical interactions involving synaptic phagocytosis or ‘stripping,’ but neither of these processes has been
investigated in obesity. We hypothesize that visceral and subcutaneous adiposity exert opposing effects on synaptic
stripping, and that microglial interactions with neurons determine the cognitive consequences of obesity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10167697
- **Project number:** 5R01DK110586-05
- **Recipient organization:** AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexis M. Stranahan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $342,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2024-03-04

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10167697

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10167697, Adipose Tissue Distribution Determines Microglial Regulation of Hippocampal Plasticity (5R01DK110586-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10167697. Licensed CC0.

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