title: Arachidonic acid improves aged rats' spatial cognition.
abstract: To examine the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) on age-related cognitive deficits, F-344 rats were administered with an AA-supplemented powder diet from 79 weeks of age (OA group). For comparison, we also used an age-matched control group of animals (OC group) that were fed with a non AA-supplemented powder diet. When the subjects reached 87 weeks old, they were trained for Morris water maze place and cue tasks. Escape latencies of the OA group on the place task were significantly shorter than those of the OC group in the latter half of training. The probe test showed that OA rats remembered the trained platform position significantly better than OC rats. In the cue task training, the OC group was significantly slower than the OA group at the beginning of training, but their performance soon matched with that of the OA group. Fatty acids in the hippocampi were measured after the behavioral testing. There was no difference in AA composition in hippocampal phospholipids between the OA and OC groups. However, regression analysis conducted on AA composition and place task performance showed a significant correlation between these two parameters. The present study suggests that AA administration to aged animals can alleviate age-related deficits in spatial cognition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyoto 602-8580, Japan. yokaichi@vesta.dti.ne.jp
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okaichi
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikura
authors.forename: Kengo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akimoto
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyoda-Ono
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiso
authors.forename: Hiroshige
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okaichi
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018697:Nootropic Agents; D016718:Arachidonic Acid