Dr. Mark Mattson discusses the benefits of intermittent fasting and dietary energy restriction and how they both play a significant role in delaying and slowing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Mattson also explains how exercise can enhance a person’s cognitive ability and protect the brain against age-related dysfunction and degeneration.
Dr. Mark Mattson is renowned for his research on brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease and the health benefits of calorie restriction and intermittent fasting. Mattson has inspired peers and lab teammates with his diligent work ethic and research productivity. He is recognized as one of the world’s most highly cited neuroscientists, with a long track record of achievements and numerous awards. Dr Mattson was the Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. He is currently a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University.
During his almost 20 years at NIA, Mattson led the Neuroscience Research Laboratory, which focused on understanding what goes wrong in the brain in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and stroke. His team made numerous discoveries that revealed the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which intermittent metabolic challenges—exercise and intermittent fasting—enhance cognition and protect the brain against age-related dysfunction and degeneration.