Okaichi Yoko, Ishikura Yoshiyuki, Akimoto Kengo, Kawashima Hiroshi, Toyoda-Ono Yoshiko, Kiso Yoshinobu, Okaichi Hiroshige
Department of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyoto 602-8580, Japan.
Physiol Behav. 2005 Mar 31;84(4):617-23. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.02.008.
To examine the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) on age-related cognitive deficits, F-344 rats were administered with an AA-supplemented powder diet from 79 weeks of age (OA group). For comparison, we also used an age-matched control group of animals (OC group) that were fed with a non AA-supplemented powder diet. When the subjects reached 87 weeks old, they were trained for Morris water maze place and cue tasks. Escape latencies of the OA group on the place task were significantly shorter than those of the OC group in the latter half of training. The probe test showed that OA rats remembered the trained platform position significantly better than OC rats. In the cue task training, the OC group was significantly slower than the OA group at the beginning of training, but their performance soon matched with that of the OA group. Fatty acids in the hippocampi were measured after the behavioral testing. There was no difference in AA composition in hippocampal phospholipids between the OA and OC groups. However, regression analysis conducted on AA composition and place task performance showed a significant correlation between these two parameters. The present study suggests that AA administration to aged animals can alleviate age-related deficits in spatial cognition.
为研究花生四烯酸（AA）对与年龄相关的认知缺陷的影响，从79周龄开始给F-344大鼠喂食补充了AA的粉状饲料（OA组）。作为对照，我们还使用了一组年龄匹配的动物作为对照组（OC组），给它们喂食未补充AA的粉状饲料。当实验对象达到87周龄时，对它们进行莫里斯水迷宫定位和线索任务训练。在训练后半段，OA组在定位任务中的逃避潜伏期显著短于OC组。探针测试表明，OA大鼠对训练过的平台位置的记忆明显优于OC大鼠。在线索任务训练中，OC组在训练开始时明显比OA组慢，但它们的表现很快就与OA组相当。行为测试后测量海马体中的脂肪酸。OA组和OC组海马体磷脂中的AA组成没有差异。然而，对AA组成和定位任务表现进行的回归分析表明，这两个参数之间存在显著相关性。本研究表明，给老龄动物施用AA可以减轻与年龄相关的空间认知缺陷。
