Jonathon Santiago, Lindsey English, and Thomas Petro

University of North Dakota

Faculty Mentor: Thomas Petros

Past research on the relationship between nutrition and cognitive performance has suggested that dietary diversity decreased the risk of cognitive decline and diets with higher levels of polyunsaturated fats improved cognitive performance. The purpose of this study was to compare younger (18-35) and older adults (65+) on measures of nutritional intake and examine whether nutritional intake moderates the magnitude of age-related changes in cognitive performance. Participants were 58 younger adults and 21 older adults (60 to 85 years of age). Participants completed a 72-hour dietary record, the WAIS-IV Vocabulary Subtest and the RBANS. Dietary diversity was positively related to cognitive performance on the RBANS Word Recall, Figure Recall and Semantic Fluency. The impact of dietary diversity was larger for older adults than younger adults. Omega-6 fatty acid levels were positively associated with word recall and passage recall while Omega- fatty acid levels were negatively associated with word and passage recall.