Effects of arachidonic acid on the spatial cognition of aged rats

Abstract

To examine the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) on age-related cognitive deficits, Fischer 344 rats were given an AA-supplemented powder diet for 12 weeks from 18.6 months old as part of the old AA (OA) group. Other age-matched rats were fed a non-AA-supplemented powder diet as part of the old control (OC) group, and young rats were fed lab pellets as part of the young control (YC) group. When the aged rats reached 20.0 months old, all animals were tested for spontaneous activity in an open field, followed by the Morris water maze place and cue tasks. Escape latencies for the place task showed that the YC rats were fastest, and there was no difference between the OA and OC groups. However, the probe test and the first block of the cue task indicated that the OA rats remembered the location of an invisible platform better than the OC rats. Although the amount of hippocampal AA was larger in the OA rats than in the OC rats, the difference was not significant. The results showed that AA administration to aged animals may alleviate age-related deficits in spatial cognition.

Evidence of Active-Forgetting Mechanisms? Blocking Arachidonic Acid Release May Slow Forgetting of Sensitization in Aplysia

“…In vertebrates, arachidonic acid has been linked to memory enhancement rather than forge ng. Specifically, supplemen ng rat diets with arachidonic acid has been reported to protect against anesthesia-induced memory deficits (Li et al, 2015) and restores age-related declines in spa al memory (Okaichi et al, 2006(Okaichi et al, , 2005 and LTP maintenance (McGahon et al, 1997). In contrast, we observed that blocking arachidonic acid release with 4-BPB may slow forge ng, sugges that arachidonic acid func ons in Aplysia to reduce the expression of sensi za on memory.…”

Evidence of Active-Forgetting Mechanisms? Blocking Arachidonic Acid Release May Slow Forgetting of Sensitization inAplysia

“…In vertebrates, arachidonic acid has been linked to memory enhancement rather than forgetting. Specifically, supplementing rat diets with arachidonic acid has been reported to protect against anesthesia-induced memory deficits ( Li et al, 2015 ) and restores age-related declines in spatial memory ( Okaichi et al, 2006 , 2005 ) and LTP maintenance ( McGahon et al, 1997 ). In contrast, we observed that blocking arachidonic acid release with 4-BPB may slow forgetting, suggesting that arachidonic acid functions in Aplysia to reduce the expression of sensitization memory.…”