Infant vision and retinal function in studies of dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: methods, results, and implications.
Animal and human studies have documented several effects of different dietary and tissue concentrations of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) on retinal function and vision. The enhanced visual development associated with increased intakes of LCPUFAs, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), provides the strongest evidence for the importance of these fatty acids in infant nutrition. The 2 primary visual measures used to assess the efficacy of infant formula LCPUFA supplementation are the electroretinogram and visual acuity. This review briefly describes the methodology, neural basis, and interpretation of these measures, as well as other measures of visual development that may be used to extend the functional evaluation of infants fed formulas with different fatty acid compositions.
Neuringer
M
M
Section of Clinical Nutrition and Lipid Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA. neuringe@ohsu.edu
D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D004596:Electroretinography; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
D004041:Dietary Fats; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids