Walk Anne M, Khan Naiman A, Barnett Sasha M, Raine Lauren B, Kramer Arthur F, Cohen Neal J, Moulton Christopher J, Renzi-Hammond Lisa M, Hammond Billy R, Hillman Charles H
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, United States.
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, United States; Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, United States.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2017 Aug;118:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.05.005. Epub 2017 May 19.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are plant pigments known to preferentially accumulate in neural tissue. Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD), a non-invasive measure of retinal carotenoids and surrogate measure of brain carotenoid concentration, has been associated with disease prevention and cognitive health. Superior MPOD status in later adulthood has been shown to provide neuroprotective effects on cognition. Given that childhood signifies a critical period for carotenoid accumulation in brain, it is likely that the beneficial impact would be evident during development, though this relationship has not been directly investigated. The present study investigated the relationship between MPOD and the behavioral and neuroelectric indices elicited during a cognitive control task in preadolescent children. 49 participants completed a modified flanker task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to assess the P3 component of the ERP waveform. MPOD was associated with both behavioral performance and P3 amplitude such that children with higher MPOD had more accurate performance and lower P3 amplitudes. These relationships were more pronounced for trials requiring greater amounts of cognitive control. These results indicate that children with higher MPOD may respond to cognitive tasks more efficiently, maintaining high performance while displaying neural indices indicative of lower cognitive load. These findings provide novel support for the neuroprotective influence of retinal carotenoids during preadolescence.
叶黄素和玉米黄质是已知优先在神经组织中积累的植物色素。黄斑色素光密度（MPOD）是一种视网膜类胡萝卜素的非侵入性测量方法，也是脑类胡萝卜素浓度的替代测量方法，它与疾病预防和认知健康有关。已表明成年后期较高的MPOD状态对认知具有神经保护作用。鉴于儿童期是脑内类胡萝卜素积累的关键时期，这种有益影响在发育过程中可能很明显，尽管这种关系尚未直接研究。本研究调查了MPOD与青春期前儿童在认知控制任务中引发的行为和神经电指标之间的关系。49名参与者完成了一项改良的侧翼任务，同时记录事件相关电位（ERP）以评估ERP波形的P3成分。MPOD与行为表现和P3波幅均相关，MPOD较高的儿童表现更准确，P3波幅更低。对于需要更多认知控制的试验，这些关系更为明显。这些结果表明，MPOD较高的儿童可能对认知任务反应更有效，在保持高性能的同时显示出较低认知负荷的神经指标。这些发现为青春期前视网膜类胡萝卜素的神经保护作用提供了新的支持。
