Pérez Miguel Á, Terreros Gonzalo, Dagnino-Subiabre Alexies
Behav Brain Funct. 2013 Jun 14;9:25. doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-9-25.
Chronic stress leads to secretion of the adrenal steroid hormone corticosterone, inducing hippocampal atrophy and dendritic hypertrophy in the rat amygdala. Both alterations have been correlated with memory impairment and increased anxiety. Supplementation with ω-3 fatty acids improves memory and learning in rats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ω-3 supplementation on learning and major biological and behavioral stress markers. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: 1) Control, 2) Vehicle, animals supplemented with water, and 3) ω-3, rats supplemented with ω-3 (100 mg of DHA+25 mg of EPA). Each experimental group was divided into two subgroups: one of which was not subjected to stress while the other was subjected to a restraint stress paradigm. Afterwards, learning was analyzed by avoidance conditioning. As well, plasma corticosterone levels and anxiety were evaluated as stress markers, respectively by ELISA and the plus-maze test. Restraint stress impaired learning and increased both corticosterone levels and the number of entries into the open-arm (elevated plus-maze). These alterations were prevented by ω-3 supplementation. Thus, our results demonstrate that ω-3 supplementation had two beneficial effects on the stressed rats, a strong anti-stress effect and improved learning.
慢性应激会导致肾上腺类固醇激素皮质酮的分泌，从而引起大鼠杏仁核的海马萎缩和树突肥大。这两种改变都与记忆障碍和焦虑增加有关。补充ω-3脂肪酸可改善大鼠的记忆和学习能力。本研究的目的是评估补充ω-3对学习以及主要生物学和行为应激标志物的影响。将雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠随机分为三个实验组：1）对照组，2）赋形剂组，即补充水的动物组，3）ω-3组，即补充ω-3（100毫克二十二碳六烯酸+25毫克二十碳五烯酸）的大鼠组。每个实验组又分为两个亚组：其中一个亚组不施加应激，而另一个亚组施加束缚应激范式。之后，通过回避条件反射分析学习情况。此外，分别通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）和十字迷宫试验评估血浆皮质酮水平和焦虑程度作为应激标志物。束缚应激损害了学习能力，并增加了皮质酮水平和进入开放臂（高架十字迷宫）的次数。补充ω-3可预防这些改变。因此，我们的结果表明，补充ω-3对应激大鼠有两个有益作用，即强大的抗应激作用和改善学习能力。
