BEHAVIORAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS CONSUMPTION IN A MURINE MODEL

BIANCONI SANCIAGO; MARIA EMILIA SANTILLÁN; ROSARIO SOLIS; MARIA BELEN PORETTI; GRACIELA STUTZ; VALERIA CARLINI

Córdoba

Congreso; XVI Jornada de Investigación Científica de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; 2015

Facultad de Ciencias Medicas. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba

Omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fundamental to development and brain function, especially Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6, n-3), which accumulates during the perinatal period. It has been suggested that DHA is involved in the processes of learning and memory, since it participates in neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus. In the present study we have explored the influence of different dietary levels of n-3, from pregnancy to adulthood, on the memory performance. Four groups of Albino swiss female mice during gestation-lactation and then their offspring during weaning-adulthood were fed with: D (deficient in n-3; purified diet; 7% sunflower oil; PUFAs: 3.48%; n-3: 0%; n-6/n-3: 0), A (adequate in n-3; purified diet; 7% soya oil; PUFAs: 3.85%; n-3: 0.57%; n-6/n-3: 5.7), E (excessive in n-3; purified diet; 7% blend oil: cod liver 60% + soya 40%; PUFAs: 3%; n-3: 1.25%; EPA 0.43% y DHA 0.32% n-6/n-3: 1.29) y C (control; commercial chow; PUFAs: 1.67%; n-3: 0.08%; n-6/n-3: 19.88). In the adulthood, the object recognition test (non-aversive memory test) was performed in young females (in diestrus; number of animals -n-: C=15, D=14, A=14 and E=16) and males (n: C=10, D=10, A=11 and E=10). Results were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA and Newman-Keuls post hoc when appropriate. The percentage of novel object exploration time (NOT = NOT x 100/total exploration time (TET)) did not differ between treatments; however, the males in the E group showed a higher TET (familiar object exploration time + NOT) during the test, with respect to group C (29.37±4.15 vs 16.37±1.99 sec; p<0.05). Likewise, the habituation index tended to decrease in E. Both males and females of A and D showed no statistically significant differences. The behavior related to the test in E could be attributed to changes in perceptual ability, the locomotor activity and/or the expression of anxiety-related behavior. In this respect, various studies have reported association between dietary n-3 PUFAs levels and responses to stress and anxiety. Additional tests (biochemical and behavioral) will be carried out with the aim of deepening in the interpretation of the changes observed.