Recovery of brain docosahexaenoate leads to recovery of spatial task performance

• Published in: Journal of neurochemistry 2003-10, Vol.87 (2), p.297-309
• Main Authors: Moriguchi, Toru, Salem, Norman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biochemistry and metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight - drug effects; Brain - drug effects; Brain - metabolism; Brain Chemistry; Central nervous system; docosahexaenoic acid; Docosahexaenoic Acids - metabolism; Docosahexaenoic Acids - pharmacology; Escape Reaction - drug effects; Fatty Acids - analysis; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - metabolism; Female; Food, Formulated; functional recovery; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; infant nutrition; learning ability; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Morris water maze; Motor Activity - drug effects; n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Reaction Time - drug effects; Recovery of Function - drug effects; Spatial Behavior - drug effects; Time Factors; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0022-3042; 1471-4159
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2003.01966.x

Infants fed vegetable oil‐based formulas may have poorer visual function, lower cognitive scores and acquire learning tasks more slowly in comparison with those breast fed or those fed formulas supplemented with docosahexaenoate. The aim of the present study was to determine the reversibility of losses in brain function associated with the loss of brain DHA. Rats were fed very low or adequate levels of n‐3 fatty acids through three generations. The n‐3 fatty acid deficient animals of the F3 generation were then given an n‐3 adequate diet containing alpha‐linolenic and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) at birth, weaning (3 weeks) or young adulthood (7 weeks). The spatial task performance of these animals returned to the n‐3 adequate diet was then compared using the Morris water at two different ages, at 9 or 13 weeks. Our results indicate that animals repleted since birth or at weaning were able to achieve nearly the same level of brain DHA and spatial task performance as animals maintained for three generations on an n‐3 adequate diet. In the case of young adult animals, the degree of DHA and behavioral performance recovery depended upon the duration of dietary repletion with substantial recovery in animals after 6 weeks but little recovery of function after two weeks. The significance of these findings is that they indicate that at least some of the adverse effects of DHA deficiency during neurodevelopment may be reversible with an n‐3 fatty acid supplemented diet.