title: DHA depletion in rat brain is associated with impairment on spatial learning and memory.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) deficiency in brain on spatial learning and memory in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sprague Dawley rats were fed with an n-3 fatty acid deficient diet for two generations to induce DHA depletion in brain. DHA in seven brain regions was analyzed using the gas-liquid chromatography. Morris water maze (MWM) was employed as an assessing index of spatial learning and memory in the n-3 fatty acid deficient adult rats of second generation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Feeding an n-3 deficient diet for two generations depleted DHA differently by 39%-63% in the seven brain regions including cerebellum, medulla, hypothalamus, striatum, hippocampus, cortex and midbrain. The MWM test showed that the n-3 deficient rats took a longer time and swam a longer distance to find the escape platform than the n-3 Adq group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The spatial learning and memory in adult rats are partially impaired by brain DHA depletion.
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutrition Sciences Programme, Department of Biochemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ruo-Jun
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zhen-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids