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Improved Working Memory but No Effect on Striatal Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Type 2 after Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation

Narendran, R and Frankle, WG and Mason, NS and Muldoon, MF and Moghaddam, B (2012) Improved Working Memory but No Effect on Striatal Vesicular Monoamine Transporter Type 2 after Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation. PLoS ONE, 7 (10).

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Abstract

Studies in rodents indicate that diets deficient in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) lower dopamine neurotransmission as measured by striatal vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT2) density and amphetamine-induced dopamine release. This suggests that dietary supplementation with fish oil might increase VMAT2 availability, enhance dopamine storage and release, and improve dopamine-dependent cognitive functions such as working memory. To investigate this mechanism in humans, positron emission tomography (PET) was used to measure VMAT2 availability pre- and post-supplementation of n-3 PUFA in healthy individuals. Healthy young adult subjects were scanned with PET using [11C]-(+)-α-dihydrotetrabenzine (DTBZ) before and after six months of n-3 PUFA supplementation (Lovaza, 2 g/day containing docosahexaenonic acid, DHA 750 mg/d and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA 930 mg/d). In addition, subjects underwent a working memory task (n-back) and red blood cell membrane (RBC) fatty acid composition analysis pre- and post-supplementation. RBC analysis showed a significant increase in both DHA and EPA post-supplementation. In contrast, no significant change in [11C]DTBZ binding potential (BPND) in striatum and its subdivisions were observed after supplementation with n-3 PUFA. No correlation was evident between n-3 PUFA induced change in RBC DHA or EPA levels and change in [11C]DTBZ BPND in striatal subdivisions. However, pre-supplementation RBC DHA levels was predictive of baseline performance (i.e., adjusted hit rate, AHR on 3-back) on the n-back task (y = 0.19+0.07, r2 = 0.55, p = 0.009). In addition, subjects AHR performance improved on 3-back post-supplementation (pre 0.65±0.27, post 0.80±0.15, p = 0.04). The correlation between n-back performance, and DHA levels are consistent with reports in which higher DHA levels is related to improved cognitive performance. However, the lack of change in [11C]DBTZ BPND indicates that striatal VMAT2 regulation is not the mechanism of action by which n-3 PUFA improves cognitive performance. © 2012 Narendran et al.


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Details

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Narendran, Rran29@pitt.eduRAN29
Frankle, WG
Mason, NS
Muldoon, MFmfm10@pitt.eduMFM10
Moghaddam, Bbita@pitt.eduBITA
Contributors:
ContributionContributors NameEmailPitt UsernameORCID
EditorLe Foll, BernardUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Date: 3 October 2012
Date Type: Publication
Journal or Publication Title: PLoS ONE
Volume: 7
Number: 10
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046832
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Neuroscience
School of Medicine > Psychiatry
School of Medicine > Radiology
Refereed: Yes
Other ID: NLM PMC3463539
PubMed Central ID: PMC3463539
PubMed ID: 23056476
Date Deposited: 30 Oct 2012 19:12
Last Modified: 22 Jun 2021 12:55
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16056

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