Moriguchi T, Greiner R S, Salem N
Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA.
J Neurochem. 2000 Dec;75(6):2563-73. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2000.0752563.x.
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 deficiency on learning performance in adult rats over two generations was investigated. Rats were fed either an n-3 fatty acid-adequate (n-3 Adq) or -deficient (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 and F3 generations, respectively. In the Morris water maze, the n-3 Def group showed a longer escape latency and delayed acquisition of this task compared with the n-3 Adq group in both generations. The acquisition and memory levels of the n-3 Def group in the F3 generation seemed to be lower than that 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/dietary n-3 fatty acids.
二十二碳六烯酸（DHA），一种n-3脂肪酸，在大脑快速发育期间会迅速沉积。研究了n-3脂肪酸缺乏对两代成年大鼠学习能力的影响。给大鼠喂食n-3脂肪酸充足（n-3 Adq）或缺乏（n-3 Def）的饮食三代（F1-F3）。n-3 Def组中，第二代和第三代大鼠大脑中总n-3脂肪酸水平分别降低了83%和87%。在莫里斯水迷宫实验中，两代n-3 Def组大鼠与n-3 Adq组相比，逃避潜伏期更长，完成该任务的时间延迟。第三代n-3 Def组的学习和记忆水平似乎低于第二代。n-3 Def组大鼠额叶皮质和母鼠乳汁中的22:5n-6/22:6n-3比例显著升高，且第三代该比例显著高于第二代。这些结果表明，学习和认知行为与大脑DHA状态有关，而大脑DHA状态又与乳汁/饮食中n-3脂肪酸水平有关。
