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Brain and Mental Performance Dietary Supplementation Fatty Acids, Lipids & Oils

Omega-3 Improves Memory

11 years, 4 months ago

9408  0
Posted on Nov 29, 2012, 6 a.m.

Dietary supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids boosts working memory, among healthy young adults.

Previously , a number of studies suggest that dietary or supplemental sources of omega-3 fatty acids help to improve cognitive function, among aging adults.   Rajesh Narendarn. From University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA), and colleagues studied a group of young adults, 18 to 25 years, who were supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids (2 g/day containing docosahexaenonic acid, DHA 750 mg/d and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA 930 mg/d), for a six month period.  Prior to taking the supplement, the subjects underwent brain imaging and blood draws; they also performed a working memory test.  At the end of the study period, all participants underwent the same assessment procedures.  The investigators found that working memory improved dramatically, prompting them to comment that: “Before seeing this data, I would have said it was impossible to move young healthy individuals above their cognitive best … We found that members of this population can enhance their working memory performance even further.”

Narendran R, Frankle WG, Mason NS, Muldoon MF, Moghaddam B. “Improved working memory but no effect on striatal vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 after omega-3 polyunsaturated Fatty Acid supplementation.”  PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e46832.

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