Mark Mattson

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American neuroscientist

title: "Mark Mattson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-neuroscientists", "colorado-state-university-alumni", "fasting-researchers", "iowa-state-university-alumni", "johns-hopkins-university-faculty", "living-people", "university-of-iowa-alumni", "university-of-north-texas-alumni", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)"] description: "American neuroscientist" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Mattson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American neuroscientist ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox scientist"]

Field	Value
name	Mark Mattson
image	Mark Mattson.JPG
image_size	200px
caption	Mark Mattson in 2009
workplaces	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
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Iowa State University
University of North Texas (Originally N. Texas State University)
University of Iowa
Colorado State University | doctoral_advisor = | doctoral_students = | known_for = | awards = | website =

Mark P. Mattson is an American neuroscientist who is an adjunct professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Early life and education

Mattson received his B.S. in Zoology from Iowa State University in 1979, his M.S. in Biology at University of North Texas (originally North Texas State University) in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Iowa in 1986.{{cite web |url=https://biology.uiowa.edu/alumni/spotlights/mark-mattson |title=Mark Mattson |access-date=2023-10-08 |last= |first= |date= |publisher=University of Iowa |url=https://www.nyas.org/events/2017/neuroplasticity-neuroregeneration-and-brain-repair/?tab=speakers |title=Speakers: Neuroplasticity, Neuroregeneration, and Brain Repair |access-date=2023-10-08 |last= |first= |date= |publisher=The New York Academy of Sciences

Career

Mattson is the former chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging.

Mattson has done research on intermittent fasting. The National Institute of Health considers him "one of the world’s top experts on the potential cognitive and physical health benefits of intermittent fasting". He is author of the book The Intermittent Fasting Revolution: The Science of Optimizing Health and Enhancing Performance. Mattson's research has also elucidated roles for the neurotransmitter glutamate in neuroplasticity and Alzheimer's disease. He is the author of the book Sculptor and Destroyer: Tales of Glutamate - the Brain's Most Important Neurotransmitter. He also hosts a podcast called Brain Ponderings, on which he interviews prominent neuroscientists about their life and work.

5:2 diet

The 5:2 diet, a form of intermittent fasting, was first documented in a 2011 article co-authored by Michelle Harvie, Mattson, and 14 additional scientists.{{cite book |last=Mattson |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Mattson |date=2022 |title=The Intermittent Fasting Revolution: The Science of Optimizing Health and Enhancing Performance |url= |location= |publisher=MIT Press |page= 198 (Kindle edition) |isbn= |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324303 |title=How to do the 5:2 diet |access-date=2023-10-08 |last=Marengo |first=Katherine |date=2019-01-28 |publisher=Medical News Today

Awards and recognition

Mattson was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for research revealing the cellular mechanisms involved in neural plasticity — the ability of neurons to adapt during processes like learning or injury — and development of neurodegenerative disorders. He is the recipient of the Alzheimer's Association Zenith Award, the Metropolitan Life Foundation Medical Research Award, and the Santiago Grisolia Chair Prize. He was as the founding editor and editor-in-chief of NeuroMolecular Medicine and Ageing Research Reviews.

On June 3, 2019, the international symposium Pathways towards and away from Brain Health was held to honor him on his retirement from the NIH.

Selected publications

Book

Selected journal articles

References

(May 29, 2019). "International Symposium to Honor Pioneer in Neuroscience and Fasting".
(29 January 2021). "The when of eating: The science behind intermittent fasting". Knowable Magazine.
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032000-200-fasting-power-can-going-without-food-really-make-you-healthier/ "Fasting power: Can going without food really make you healthier?"]. ''New Scientist''.
"Fasting Guide".
(2022). "The Intermittent Fasting Revolution". MIT Press.
(2023). "Sculptor and Destroyer: Tales of Glutamate the Brain's Most Important Neurotransmitter". MIT Press.
(10 March 2023). "BRAIN PONDERINGS podcasts".
(2011). "The effects of intermittent or continuous energy restriction on weight loss and metabolic disease risk markers: a randomised trial in young overweight women". [[International Journal of Obesity]].
[https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/does-52-diet-work Does the 5:2 diet work?]
[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/22/michael-mosley-ecigarettes-miracle-menace-tv#:~:text=In%202012%20he%20popularised%20the,UK%20in%20its%20first%20year. Michael Mosley: ‘No male in my family has made it beyond 72]
(5 August 2012). "The power of intermittent fasting". BBC Health.
(6 August 2012). "Horizon - Eat, Fast and Live Longer". BBC iPlayer.
(10 February 2020). "What the science says about the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].

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