Effects of diet and/or exercise in enhancing spinal cord sensorimotor learning.
Given that the spinal cord is capable of learning sensorimotor tasks and that dietary interventions can influence learning involving supraspinal centers, we asked whether the presence of omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the curry spice curcumin (Cur) by themselves or in combination with voluntary exercise could affect spinal cord learning in adult spinal mice. Using an instrumental learning paradigm to assess spinal learning we observed that mice fed a diet containing DHA/Cur performed better in the spinal learning paradigm than mice fed a diet deficient in DHA/Cur. The enhanced performance was accompanied by increases in the mRNA levels of molecular markers of learning, i.e., BDNF, CREB, CaMKII, and syntaxin 3. Concurrent exposure to exercise was complementary to the dietary treatment effects on spinal learning. The diet containing DHA/Cur resulted in higher levels of DHA and lower levels of omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) in the spinal cord than the diet deficient in DHA/Cur. The level of spinal learning was inversely related to the ratio of AA:DHA. These results emphasize the capacity of select dietary factors and exercise to foster spinal cord learning. Given the non-invasiveness and safety of the modulation of diet and exercise, these interventions should be considered in light of their potential to enhance relearning of sensorimotor tasks during rehabilitative training paradigms after a spinal cord injury.
Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
M Selvan
MS
Joseph
Zhe
Z
Ying
Yumei
Y
Zhuang
Hui
H
Zhong
Aiguo
A
Wu
Harsharan S
HS
Bhatia
Rusvelda
R
Cruz
Niranjala J K
NJ
Tillakaratne
Roland R
RR
Roy
V Reggie
VR
Edgerton
Fernando
F
Gomez-Pinilla
D000818:Animals; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003474:Curcumin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000534:rehabilitation*
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D005227:Fatty Acids; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D003474:Curcumin