Diet, Lipids and Brain Development

Abstract

Brain development is a sequential anatomical process characterised by specific well-defined stages of growth and maturation. One of the fundamental and necessary events in the normal development of the central nervous system in vertebrates is the formation of a myelin sheath. It is becoming more evident that this process is influenced by dietary lipids. A number of findings have indicated that the administration of a diet deficient in essential fatty acids during development causes hypomyelination in the rat brain. Our studies have shown that lipids can also play a role in accelerating myelinogenesis in the brain of rats whose mothers had been fed, during pregnancy and lactation, a lipid fraction extracted from yeast grown on n-alkanes. Further studies have shown that accelerated myelinogenesis is connected to a precocious appearance of behavioural reflexes. Thus, the use of particular lipids in human nutrition must be carefully screened for possible effects on brain development.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids stimulate phosphatidylcholine synthesis in PC12 cells

“…Quantitites of PC, PS, PI and PE were determined by phosphate analysis. Data are the means ± SEM of 5 dishes and are expressed as dpm 3 H or 14 C incorporated/nmol PO 4 . ***, P<0.001 for differences between AA and DHA-treated groups.…”

“…Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are constituents of the phospholipids of mammalian cell membranes, and as such are vitally important in the normal development and optimal functioning of the brain (for reviews, see [1][2][3][4]). Vertebrates cannot synthesize PUFAs de novo but rather derive them from metabolic precursor molecules of plant origin.…”

Acetyl-l-carnitine reduces impulsive behaviour in adolescent rats

“…ALC is an energy reservoir (Aureli et al 1998), which is converted through deacetylation to carnitine. The latter is a carrier of long-chain fatty acids, which are important for brain maturation and functioning (Salvati et al 2000). ALC may increase the reservoir of activated acetyl groups, which are involved in the reacylation of membrane phospholipids (Virmani et al 1995).…”

Food for thought: Dietary changes in essential fatty acid ratios and the increase in autism spectrum disorders

“…As a consequence, it may be expected that early life dietary changes in PUFAs intake may influence myelination of newly formed circuitries (Poduslo and Jang, 1984;Salvati et al, 2000;Yehuda et al, 2005b).…”

“…As pointed out, white matter tract formation and myelin synthesis is very sensitive to the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs. A deficiency of n-3 or an increase in n-6 could lead to changes in myelination and thereby alter connectivity (Poduslo and Jang, 1984;Salvati et al, 2000;Yehuda et al, 2005b). Future experiments in mice, through dietary intervention with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, will be necessary to reveal the impact of PUFAs on myelin synthesis and white matter tract formation.…”