Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, 427-451 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Vic, 3122, Australia.
Physiol Behav. 2012 Oct 10;107(3):346-54. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.08.006. Epub 2012 Aug 23.
Growing evidence suggests that dietary supplementation with selected micronutrients and nutraceuticals may have the potential to improve cognition in older adults. Fewer studies have investigated the effects of these substances on brain activity.
This study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, conducted to explore the effects of 16 weeks supplementation with a combined multivitamin, mineral and herbal formula on the steady state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) measure of brain electrical activity. Participants were elderly women aged between 64 and 79 years, with subjective memory complaints. Baseline and post-treatment SSVEP data was obtained for 22 participants in the multivitamin group and 19 in the placebo group. A spatial working memory delayed response task (DRT) was performed during the recording of the SSVEP.
The results revealed that when compared to placebo, multivitamin supplementation delayed SSVEP latency during retrieval, interpreted as an increase in inhibitory neural processes. Behavioural performance on the DRT was not improved by the multivitamin, however improved performance accuracy was associated with increased midline central SSVEP latency. There were no multivitamin-related effects on SSVEP amplitude.
These findings indicate that in the elderly, multivitamin supplementation may enhance neural efficiency during memory retrieval.
越来越多的证据表明，补充某些微量营养素和天然药物可能具有改善老年人认知能力的潜力。但较少的研究调查了这些物质对大脑活动的影响。
本研究是一项随机、双盲、安慰剂对照试验，旨在探索 16 周补充复合多种维生素、矿物质和草药配方对大脑电活动稳态视觉诱发电位（SSVEP）测量的影响。参与者为年龄在 64 至 79 岁之间、有主观记忆主诉的老年女性。22 名复合维生素组和 19 名安慰剂组的参与者在基线和治疗后均获得 SSVEP 数据。在 SSVEP 记录期间进行空间工作记忆延迟反应任务（DRT）。
结果表明，与安慰剂相比，复合维生素补充剂在检索时延迟了 SSVEP 潜伏期，这被解释为抑制性神经过程的增加。然而，DRT 的行为表现并没有因复合维生素而改善，但改善的表现准确性与中线中央 SSVEP 潜伏期的增加有关。复合维生素对 SSVEP 幅度没有影响。
这些发现表明，在老年人中，复合维生素补充剂可能会增强记忆检索过程中的神经效率。
