Jackson Corey, Barrett Douglas W, Shumake Jason, Gonzales Elisa, Gonzalez-Lima F, Lane Michelle A
Nutrition and Foods Program, School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas State University, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton Stop A8000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
BMC Res Notes. 2018 Nov 15;11(1):812. doi: 10.1186/s13104-018-3915-3.
Previously, we showed that consumption of a diet supplemented with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3FAs) for two rounds of gestation and lactation increased the ability of rat dams to cope with stress when compared to dams that ingested a diet lacking n-3FAs. The objective of this study was to determine if the diets of these dams affected the behavior of their pups later in life. To isolate the neurodevelopmental effects of n-3FAs, pups from the second gestation were weaned to a diet adequate in n-3FAs. Pup testing began at 8 weeks of age and consisted of the forced swim, open field, and hole board tests to examine depression-related behavior, reaction to novelty, and learning and memory, respectively.
Given the considerable difference in the n-3FA content of the maternal diet, we expected a large effect size, however with the exception of rearing duration, maternal diet did not affect behavior in any of the tests conducted. These results suggest that maternal n-3FA supplementation during neurodevelopment likely does not affect offspring behavior when a diet adequate in n-3FA is provided post-weaning. Rather, we hypothesize that brain n-3FAs at the time of testing confer altered behavior and corroborate the need for additional research.
此前，我们发现，与摄入缺乏ω-3多不饱和脂肪酸（n-3FAs）饮食的母鼠相比，在两轮妊娠和哺乳期摄入添加n-3FAs饮食的母鼠应对压力的能力有所增强。本研究的目的是确定这些母鼠的饮食是否会影响其幼崽日后的行为。为了分离n-3FAs对神经发育的影响，将第二胎妊娠的幼崽断奶后喂食富含n-3FAs的饮食。幼崽在8周龄时开始测试，分别通过强迫游泳、旷场和洞板试验来检测与抑郁相关的行为、对新奇事物的反应以及学习和记忆能力。
鉴于母体饮食中n-3FAs含量存在显著差异，我们预期效应量会很大，然而，除了饲养时间外，母体饮食对所进行的任何测试中的行为均无影响。这些结果表明，在神经发育期间母体补充n-3FAs，若断奶后提供富含n-3FAs的饮食，则可能不会影响后代行为。相反，我们推测测试时大脑中的n-3FAs会导致行为改变，并证实有必要进行更多研究。
