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The Importance of DHA in Optimal Cognitive Function in Rodents

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Fatty Acids

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

The mammalian brain is a lipid-rich organ. Approximately 60% of the dry weight of the brain is lipid (Crawford, 1993). Most of the lipid in the brain is present in the form of phospholipids comprising the complex array of neural fibers that make up the central nervous system. A unique aspect of the lipid composition of all mammalian neurological tissues is the extraordinarily high concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA). Indeed, DHA is the most abundant fatty acid building block of brain lipids and represents over 30% of the fatty acids of the phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylserine (PS) in the neuron (Salem, et al., 1986). DHA is primarily concentrated in the neuronal endings and synaptosomes and is also associated with the neurite growth cones, where it has been shown to promote neurite outgrowth (Ikemoto, et al., 1997). Its unique conformational characteristics (twenty-two carbons and 6 double bonds; C22:6) allow this fatty acid to have a structural as well as a functional role in biological membranes.

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Authors
  1. Claus C. Becker
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  2. David J. Kyle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    David I. Mostofsky PhD

  2. Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Shlomo Yehuda PhD

  3. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD, USA

    Norman Salem Jr. PhD

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Becker, C.C., Kyle, D.J. (2001). The Importance of DHA in Optimal Cognitive Function in Rodents. In: Mostofsky, D.I., Yehuda, S., Salem, N. (eds) Fatty Acids. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-119-0_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-119-0_21

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-265-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-119-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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