Abstract
Studies were carried out to determine if decreased levels of central nervous system docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a result of consuming an n-3-deficient diet, had an effect on learning- and memory-related behaviors in adult male rats. Females were reared on an n-3-deficient or n-3-adequate diet beginning at 21 d of life. Their male pups, the F2 generation, were weaned to the diet of the dam and tested at 9–12 wk of age. An olfactory-based discrimination and Morris water maze task were used to assess performance. Whole brain was collected after the behavioral experiments and central nervous system fatty acid content was analyzed in olfactory bulb total lipid extracts. F2 generation male rats consuming the n-3-deficient diet had an 82% decrease in DHA compared to rats consuming the n-3-adequate diet. The n-3-deficient animals made significantly more total errors in a 7-problem, 2-odor discrimination task compared to the n-3-adequate group. Furthermore, the escape latency in the Morris water maze task was significantly longer for the n-3-deficient rats compared to the n-3-adequate rats. These results indicate that rats with decreased DHA levels in the central nervous system perform poorer in these tasks compared to rats with higher DHA levels and suggest the presence of learning deficits in these animals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DHA:
-
docosahexaenoic acid
References
Salem, N., Jr., Kim, H.Y., and Yergey, J.A. (1986) Docosahexaenoic Acid: Membrane Function and Metabolism, inThe Health Effects of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Seafoods (Simo, A.P., Kifer, R.R., and Martin, R., eds.), pp. 263–317, Academic Press, New York.
Salem, N., Jr. (1989) Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Molecular and Biochemical Aspects, inNew Protective Roles of Selective Nutrients in Human Nutrition (Spiller, G., and Scala, J., eds.), pp. 109–228, Alan R. Liss, New York.
Hamosh, M., and Salem, N., Jr. (1998) Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids,Biol. Neonate 74, 106–120.
Benolken, R.M., Anderson, R.E., and Wheeler, T.G. (1973) Membrane Fatty Acids Associated with the Electrical Response in Visual Excitation,Science 182, 1253–1254.
Bourre, J.-M., Grancois, M., Youyou, A., Dumont, O., Piciotti, M., Pascal, G., and Durand, G. (1989) The Effects of Dietary α-Linolenic Acid on the Composition of Nerve Membranes, Enzymatic Activity, Amplitude of Electrophysiological Parameters, Resistance to Poisons and Performance of Learning Tasks in Rats,J. Nutr. 119, 1880–1892.
Weisinger, H.S., Vingrys, A.J., and Sinclair, A.J. (1996) The Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid on the Electroretinogram of the Guinea Pig,Lipids 31, 65–70.
Carlson, S.E., Werkman, S.H., Rhodes, P.G., and Tolley, E.A. (1993) Visual-Acuity Development in Healthy Preterm Infants: Effect of Marine-Oil Supplementation,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, 35–42.
Uauy, R.D., Birch, D.G., Birch, E.E., Tyson, J.E., and Hoffman, D.R. (1990) Effect of Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Retinal Function of Very-Low-Birth-Weight Neonates,Pediatr. Res. 28, 485–492.
Neuringer, M., Connor, W.E., Van Petten, C., and Barstad, L. (1984) Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Deficiency and Visual Loss in Infant Rhesus Monkeys,J. Clin. Invest. 73, 272–276.
Neuringer, M., Connor, W.E., Lin, D.S., Barstad, L., and Luck, S. (1986) Biochemical and Functional Effects of Prenatal and Postnatal n-3 Deficiency on Retina and Brain in Rhesus Monkeys,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 4021–4025.
Lamptey, M.S., and Walker, B.L. (1976) A Possible Essential Role for Dietary Linolenic Acid in the Development of the Young Rat,J. Nutr. 106, 86–93.
Yamamoto, N., Saitoh, M., Moriuchi, A., Nomura M., and Okuyama, H. (1987) Effect of Dietary α-Linolenate/Linoleate Balance on Brain Lipid Compositions and Learning Ability of Rats,J. Lipid Res. 28, 144–151.
Yamamoto, N., Hashimoto, A., Takemoto, Y., Okuyama, H., Normura, N., Kitajima, R., Togashi, T., and Tamai, Y. (1988) Effect of the Dietary α-Linolenate/Linoleate Balance on Lipid Compositions and the Learning Ability of Rats. II. Discrimination Process, Extinction Process, and Glycolipid Compositions,J. Lipid. Res. 29, 1013–1021.
Mills, D.E., Young, R.P., and Young, C. (1988) Effects of Prenatal and Early Postnatal Fatty Acid Supplementation on Behavior,Nutr. Res. 8, 273.
Wainwright, P.E., Huang, Y.-S., Bulman-Fleming, B., Mills, D.E., Redden, P., and McCuteheon, D. (1991) The Role of n-3 Essential Fatty Acids in Brain and Behavioral Development: A Cross-Fostering Study in the Mouse,Lipids 26, 37.
Wainwright, P.E., Ward, G.R., Winfield, D., Huang, Y.-S., Mills, D.E., and Ward, R.P. (1990) Effects of Prenatal Ethanol and Long-Chain n-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Development in Mice: I. Body and Brain Growth, Sensorimotor Development, and Water T-Maze Reversal Learning,Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 14, 405.
Wainwright, P.E., Huang, Y.-S., Bulman-Fleming, B., Levesque, S., and McCutcheon, D. (1994) The Effects of Dietary Fatty Acid Composition Combined with Environmental Enrichment on Brain and Behavior in Mice,Behav. Brain Res. 60, 125–136.
Wainwright, P.E. (1993) Lipids and Behavior: The Evidence from Animal Models, inLipids, Learning, and the Brain: Fats in Infant Formulas, Report of the 103rd Ross Conference on Pediatric Research, pp. 69–101, Ross Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio.
Slotnick, B.M. (1990) Olfactory Perception in Animals, inComparative Perception, Volume I: Basic Mechanisms, pp. 155–214, (Stebbins, W., and Berkley, M., eds.), John Wiley, New York.
Slotnick, B.M. (1994) The Enigma of Olfactory Learning Revisited,Neuroscience 58, 1–12.
Reeves, P.G., Neilsen, F.H., and Fahey, G.C. (1993) Committee Report on the AIN-93 Purified Rodent Diet,J. Nutr. 123, 1939–1951.
Slotnick, B.M., and Risser, J.M. (1990) Odor Memory and Odor Learning in Rats with Lesions of the Lateral Olfactory Tract and Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus,Brain Res. 529, 23–29.
Lu, X.-C.M., Slotnick, B.M., and Silberberg, A.M. (1993) Odor Matching and Odor Memory in the Rat,Physiol. Behav. 53, 795–804.
Salem, N., Jr., Reyzer, M., and Karanian, J. (1996) Losses of Arachidonic Acid in Rat Liver After Alcohol Inhalation,Lipids 31, S?153-S?156.
Wainwright, P.E. (1992) Do Essential Fatty Acids Play a Role in Brain and Behavioral Development?Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 16, 193.
Delion, S., Chalon, S., Herault, J., Guilloteau, D., Besnard, J.-C., and Durand, G. (1994) Chronic Dietary α-Linolenic Acid Deficency Alters Dopaminergic and Serotoninergic Neurotransmission in Rats,J. Nutr. 124, 2466–2467.
Ward, G., Woods, J., Reyzer, M., and Salem, N., Jr. (1996) Artificial Rearing of Infant Rats on Milk Formula Deficient in n-3 Essential Fatty Acids: A Rapid Method for the Production of Experimental n-3 Deficiency,Lipids 31, 71–77.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Greiner, R.S., Moriguchi, T., Hutton, A. et al. Rats with low levels of brain docosahexaenoic acid show impaired performance in olfactory-based and spatial learning tasks. Lipids 34 (Suppl 1), S239–S243 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02562305
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02562305