"Gomez-Pinilla and study co-author Rahul Agrawal, a UCLA visiting postdoctoral fellow from India, studied two groups of rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks. The second group also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which protects against damage to the synapses — the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning."
And from this we can extrapolate that humans shouldn't eat fruit or high fructose corn syrup or [insert pet conclusion here] unless they want to become stupid. Also, there's no mention in the article of a control group. If this is what passes for science these days then
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TbGjt-weAWhat you extrapolate from it is up to you. In moderation sugar is likely just fine, particularly when coupled with adequate amount of omega-3s (in salmon, walnuts, etc). Of course, most people (here in US, at least) consume vastly more than moderate, recommended amounts. That article is just a summary of the actual study, and maybe not a very good one at that. The
full study mentions a control group. Indeed, there were apparently four groups of rats, only two of which were drinking fructose solution.
However well the effects on rats translate to those on humans, I still cut a lot of sugar from my diet after I read this, just in case. I have a crappy memory as is, and wouldn't want it damaged any more. What I did was stop drinking sweet beverages completely (juice, sweet tea, etc) and limited other sweets. Hard to say if memory was effected, but I did lose some weight.