Scientific Research

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) funds research studies that are grounded in sound science, use rigorous methodology, and are conducted by autonomous researchers at well-established institutions. All published research is submitted to peer-reviewed journals by the researcher, independent of the USHBC.

Explore the full overview of research specifically funded by the USHBC, and examine the full body of evidence on blueberry science by browsing the research topics below.

Blueberry supplementation induces spatial memory improvements and region-specific regulation of hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression in young rats

Catarina Rendeiro, David Vauzour, Rebecca J Kean, Laurie T Butler, Marcus Rattray, Jeremy P E Spencer, Claire M Williams
Psychopharmacology (Berl) . 2012 Oct;223(3):319-30.
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Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline

Elizabeth E Devore, Jae Hee Kang, Monique M B Breteler, Francine Grodstein
Ann Neurol . 2012 Jul;72(1):135-43.
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Antioxidant and neuroprotective properties of blueberry polyphenols: a critical review

Marilù Giacalone, Filippo Di Sacco, Ippolito Traupe, Roberto Topini, Francesco Forfori, Francesco Giunta
Nutr Neurosci . 2011 May;14(3):119-25.
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Short-term blueberry-enriched diet prevents and reverses object recognition memory loss in aging rats

David H Malin, David R Lee, Pilar Goyarzu, Yu-Hsuan Chang, Lalanya J Ennis, Elizabeth Beckett, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, James A Joseph
Malin DH, Lee DR, Goyarzu P, Chang YH, Ennis LJ, Beckett E, Shukitt-Hale B, Joseph JA. Short-term blueberry-enriched diet prevents and reverses object recognition memory loss in aging rats. Nutrition. 2011 Mar;27(3):338-42.
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Differential protection among fractionated blueberry polyphenolic families against DA-, Abeta(42)- and LPS-induced decrements in Ca(2+) buffering in primary hippocampal cells

James A Joseph, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Gregory J Brewer, Karen A Weikel, Wilhelmina Kalt, Derek R Fisher
J Agric Food Chem . 2010 Jul 28;58(14):8196-204.
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Blueberry supplementation attenuates microglial activation in hippocampal intraocular grafts to aged hosts

Lauren M Willis, Linnea Freeman, Paula C Bickford, E Matthew Quintero, Claudia D Umphlet, Alfred B Moore, Laura Goetzl, Ann-Charlotte Granholm
Glia . 2010 Apr 15;58(6):679-90.
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Blueberry treatment antagonizes C-2 ceramide-induced stress signaling in muscarinic receptor-transfected COS-7 cells

James A Joseph, Donna F Bielinski, Derek R Fisher
J Agric Food Chem . 2010 Mar 24;58(6):3380-92.
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Age-related toxicity of amyloid-beta associated with increased pERK and pCREB in primary hippocampal neurons: reversal by blueberry extract

Gregory J Brewer, John R Torricelli, Amanda L Lindsey, Elizabeth Z Kunz, A Neuman, Derek R Fisher, James A Joseph
J Nutr Biochem . 2010 Oct;21(10):991-8.
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Beneficial effects of antioxidant-enriched diet for tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in ventral mesencephalic tissue in oculo grafts

Elisabet Berglöf, Brent J Small, Paula C Bickford, Ingrid Strömberg
J Comp Neurol . 2009 Jul 1;515(1):72-82.
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