Changes in the level of fatty acids in the brain of rats during memory acquisition

Memory acquisition is accompanied by many cellular and molecular processes, and it is not always clear what role they play. Fatty acids (FAs) are known to be important for cognitive functions, but the details of their involvement in memory processes remain unknown. We investigated FAs in the prefron...

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Published in:Behavioural brain research 2022-01, Vol.417, p.113599-113599, Article 113599
Main Authors: Pershina, Ekaterina V., Kulagina, Tatyana P., Savina, Tatyana A., Aripovsky, Alexander V., Levin, Sergey G., Arkhipov, Vladimir I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brain - metabolism
Cognition
Fatty acids
Fatty Acids - metabolism
Food
Hippocampus
Hippocampus - metabolism
Learning
Male
Memory consolidation
Memory Consolidation - physiology
Prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism
Rats
Reinforcement, Psychology
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Summary:Memory acquisition is accompanied by many cellular and molecular processes, and it is not always clear what role they play. Fatty acids (FAs) are known to be important for cognitive functions, but the details of their involvement in memory processes remain unknown. We investigated FAs in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats trained to perform a task with food reinforcement. The learning consisted of two training sessions, each of which included 10 trials. The results showed that such training altered individual FAs in the brains. The most significant changes were in the prefrontal cortex, where an increase in the level of many FAs occurred, especially after the second training session: palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), docosahexaenoic (22:6, n-3), arachidonic (22:4, n-6), docosapentaenoic (22:5, n-6) acids. Changes in the fatty acid level after training in rats were detected only in the left hippocampus, where the levels of palmitic, docosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids changed. The changes in the right hippocampus were not significant. In both the prefrontal cortex and the left hippocampus, 72 h after training, all FAs returned to control levels. We believe that the main role of a reversible increase in FA levels during memory acquisition is to support and protect cellular processes involved in memory acquisition. Consolidation of memory traces, which occurs mainly in the neocortex, requires protection from external influences, to which FAs makes a significant contribution. They are able to improve neuronal plasticity, enhance local blood flow, improve mitochondrial processes, and suppress pro-inflammatory signals. [Display omitted]
ISSN:0166-4328
1872-7549
DOI:10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113599