T. Moriguchi et al., Behavioral deficits associated with dietary induction of decreased brain docosahexaenoic acid concentration, J NEUROCHEM, 75(6), 2000, pp. 2563-2573
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an n-3 fatty acid, is rapidly deposited during
the period of rapid brain development. The influence of n-3 fatty acid defi
ciency on learning performance in adult rats over two generations was inves
tigated. Rats were fed either an n-3 fatty acid-adequate (n-3 Adq) or -defi
cient (n-3 Def) diet for three generations (F1-F3). Levels of total brain n
-3 fatty acids were reduced in the n-3 Def group by 83 and 87% in the F2 an
d F3 generations, respectively. In the Morris water maze, the n-3 Def group
showed a longer escape latency and delayed acquisition of this task compar
ed with the n-3 Adq group in both generations. The acquisition and memory l
evels of the n-3 Def group in the F3 generation seemed to be lower than tha
t of the F2 generation. The 22:5n-6/22:6n-3 ratio in the frontal cortex and
dams' milk was markedly increased in the n-3 Def group, and this ratio was
significantly higher in the F3 generation compared with the F2 generation.
These results suggest that learning and cognitive behavior are related to
brain DHA status, which, in turn, is related to the levels of the milk/diet
ary n-3 fatty acids.