Food anticipatory activity can be conditioned into a circadian phase
This reference is used to support claims made by Dr Piotr Wozniak as part of an article series on memory, learning, creativity, and problem solving.
Meal timing is important for health and for the synchrony of the circadian cycle. It is easiest to conduct research on rodents. However, rats feed at night. Humans are strongly biphasic. Adaptation rates differ. Nevertheless, studying rodents is highly inspirational. Chinese researchers reported:
Restricted feeding (RF) at a fixed time in mice can induce a gradually increased activity that occurs 2–3 h prior to mealtime, termed food-anticipatory activity (FAA)
We can change the phase of the gastric circadian oscillator by changing the timing of meals. This effectively decouples the gastric rhythm from the hypothalamic rhythm. The gastric oscillator affects the release of ghrelin, food anticipatory activity and appetite. However, ghrelin is not directly responsible for the increase in activity. Adaptation in mice takes about a week:
Several characteristics of FAA suggest the involvement of learning and memory in its establishment and maintenance. First, it takes about 1 week to establish regular FAA, which is consistent with the process of classic learning. Second, the memory related to the feeding time is stable and enduring. Even after a period of free access to food, the anticipatory activity could immediately re-emerge at the time associated with previous food availability after food deprivation. Third, the hippocampus and cortical areas, which are required for learning and memory, are also involved in FAA. Fourth, similar to memory, FAA diminishes with aging
Quoted excerpts come from the following reference:
Title: Altered expressions of memory genes in food-entrained circadian rhythm
Authors: Yue Mei, Jianghong Zhang, Zhigang Li, Huajing Teng, Yan Wang, Zhongsheng Sun
Date: 2018
Backlink: Optimum diet
Link: https://academic.oup.com/abbs/article/50/10/1068/5077484/