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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Syst. Neurosci.
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2024.1423966

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce cytochrome c oxidase in brain white matter and sensorimotor regions while increasing functional interactions between neural systems related to escape behavior in postpartum rats

Provisionally accepted
Carley Rivers Carley Rivers 1Christopher Farber Christopher Farber 1Melissa Heath Melissa Heath 1Elisa Gonzales Elisa Gonzales 1Douglas W. Barrett Douglas W. Barrett 2F. Gonzalez-Lima F. Gonzalez-Lima 2Michelle A. Lane Michelle A. Lane 1*
  • 1 Texas State University, San Marcos, United States
  • 2 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Previously, we showed that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFAs) supplementation improved the performance of postpartum rats in the shuttle box escape test (SBET). The brains of these rats were used in the current study which examined brain cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) activity in white matter bundles and 39 regions spanning sensorimotor, limbic, and cognitive areas to determine the effects of n-3 PUFAs on neural metabolic capacity and network interactions. We found that n-3 PUFA supplementation decreased CCO activity in white matter bundles, deep and superficial areas within the inferior colliculus, the anterior and barrel field regions of the primary somatic sensorimotor cortex, the secondary somatic sensorimotor cortex, the lateral, anterior regions of the secondary visual cortex and the ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus, and the medial nucleus of the amygdala. Structural equation modeling revealed that animals consuming diets without n-3 PUFAs exhibited fewer inter-regional interactions when compared to those fed diets with n-3 PUFAs. Without n-3 PUFAs, inter-regional interactions were observed between the posterior cingulate cortex and amygdala as well as among amygdala subregions. With n-3 PUFAs, more inter-regional interactions were observed, particularly between regions associated with fear memory processing and escape. Correlations between regional CCO activity and SBET behavior were observed in rats lacking dietary n-3 PUFAs but not in those supplemented with these nutrients. In conclusion, consumption of n-3 PUFAs results in reduced CCO activity in white matter bundles and sensorimotor regions, reflecting more efficient neurotransmission, and an increase in inter-regional interactions, facilitating escape from footshock.

    Keywords: n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, Pregnancy, white matter, cytochrome c oxidase, somatosensory

    Received: 26 Apr 2024; Accepted: 14 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rivers, Farber, Heath, Gonzales, Barrett, Gonzalez-Lima and Lane. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Michelle A. Lane, Texas State University, San Marcos, United States

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