Brain development is likely impacted by micronutrients. This is supported by the effects of the ω-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during early neuronal differentiation, when it increases neurite growth. Aiming to delineate DHA roles in postnatal stages, we selected the visual cortex due to its stereotypic maturation. Immunohistochemistry showed that young mice that received dietary DHA from birth exhibited more abundant presynaptic and postsynaptic specializations. DHA also increased density and size of synapses in a dose-dependent manner in cultured neurons. In addition, dendritic arbors of neurons treated with DHA were more complex. In agreement with improved connectivity, DHA enhanced physiological parameters of network maturation in vitro, including bursting strength and oscillatory behavior. Aiming to analyze functional maturation of the cortex, we performed in vivo electrophysiological recordings from awake mice to measure responses to patterned visual inputs. Dietary DHA robustly promoted the developmental increase in visual acuity, without altering light sensitivity. The visual acuity of DHA-supplemented animals continued to improve even after their cortex had matured and DHA abolished the acuity plateau. Our findings show that the ω-3 fatty acid DHA promotes synaptic connectivity and cortical processing. These results provide evidence that micronutrients can support the maturation of neuronal networks.
Pubmed ID: 31034037 RIS Download
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
This polyclonal secondary targets IgG2a
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG1
View all literature mentionsThis monoclonal targets Synapsin-1 (D12G5) XP Rabbit mAb
View all literature mentionsThis recombinant polyclonal secondary targets IgG (Heavy Chain)
View all literature mentionsThis monoclonal targets Tubulin III, beta (neuronal)
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Mouse IgM (?? chain)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis monoclonal targets MAP-2 (Microtubule Associated Protein, MAP-2A and -2B)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets VGAT (cytoplasmic domain)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets VGLUT1
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Goat Rabbit IgG Alexa Fluor? 488
View all literature mentionsThis monoclonal targets VGlut1 neurotransmitter transporter
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG1
View all literature mentionsStatistical analysis software that combines scientific graphing, comprehensive curve fitting (nonlinear regression), understandable statistics, and data organization. Designed for biological research applications in pharmacology, physiology, and other biological fields for data analysis, hypothesis testing, and modeling.
View all literature mentionsStatistical analysis software that combines scientific graphing, comprehensive curve fitting (nonlinear regression), understandable statistics, and data organization. Designed for biological research applications in pharmacology, physiology, and other biological fields for data analysis, hypothesis testing, and modeling.
View all literature mentions