Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41337822›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of aging2026

Time-restricted feeding rescues sociability deficits and reduces neuroinflammation in aged mice.

Louise M Ince, Brandy N Routh, Jeffrey S Darling, Krishi Manem, Akshay Prabhakar, Sophia Martinez, Emily Chan, Ruizhuo Chen, Andrew D Gaudet, Laura K Fonken

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Louise M InceDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Brandy N RouthDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Jeffrey S DarlingDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Krishi ManemDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Akshay PrabhakarDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Sophia MartinezDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Emily ChanDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Ruizhuo ChenDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Andrew D GaudetInterdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Neurology, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Laura K FonkenDivision of Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: laura.fonken@austin.utexas.edu.

Funding

Disrupted Circadian Regulation of Cell Migration at CNS-Immune Interfaces in Aging and Alzheimer's DiseaseR01AG078758 · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2025 to 2025
$572k
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG062716NIA NIH HHS R01 AG078758
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aging brain exhibits an increased inflammatory potential which in turn elicits behavioral changes e.g., social withdrawal. Social isolation is a risk factor for additional health complications, and interventions which can mitigate these negative facets of aging can improve longevity and quality of life in old age. The circadian system critically regulates neuroimmune function and behavior, but circadian rhythms also degrade with age, resulting in lower amplitude oscillations in activity and hormone secretion. Time-restricted feeding (TRF), in which food availability is limited to a specific time-of-day, is a simple dietary intervention which provides timing cues to the circadian system - protecting against metabolic disease and reducing systemic inflammation. We thus tested the hypothesis that TRF could serve as an intervention to bolster circadian rhythms in aged mice and have beneficial effects upon age-associated neuroinflammation and behavior. Here, we demonstrate that 6 weeks of TRF in aged (18 months old) mice ameliorates age-associated social withdrawal and drives distinct molecular and cellular changes within the brain. TRF attenuates age-associated increases in inflammatory gene expression in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and re-establishes circadian phase-appropriate expression of autophagy-related genes in the hippocampus. In addition, TRF promotes a diurnal rhythm in microglial branching complexity in the hippocampus, recapitulating the pattern observed in young adults (3 months old). TRF also reduced blood glucose levels in aged males, but not in aged females, suggesting sex-specific effects on metabolic parameters with age. These results highlight the efficacy of TRF as a therapeutic approach to alleviate age-associated neuroinflammation and social withdrawal.

Indexed as

AgingFastingNeuroinflammatory DiseasesSocial BehaviorSocial IsolationAnimalsAutophagyBehavior, AnimalCircadian RhythmFemaleHippocampusInflammationMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMicrogliaCircadian rhythmsMicrogliaNeuroimmuneSocial withdrawalTime-restricted feeding

Identifiers

PMID41337822
PMCPMC12991870

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.