EFFECTS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

描述（由申请人提供）：长链ω-3脂肪酸是主要在鱼类中发现的必需营养素。大多数美国人很少吃鱼，因此可能有健康后遗症的风险。临床试验证据通常表明鱼油补充剂的有益效果：a）对心脏病患者的心血管疾病发病率，以及B）在精神病患者群体中的症状改善方面。然而，补充剂在一般人群中的作用尚不清楚。申请人和他的同事最近得到了支持，在健康的成年社区志愿者中进行了一项随机和安慰剂对照的临床实验，以测试鱼油补充剂对心血管疾病风险，负面影响和冲动性标志物的影响。新的观察证据现在也将低膳食摄入或组织水平的omega-3脂肪酸与认知功能低下或痴呆症联系起来。拟议研究的目的是在所述研究的背景下，研究补充剂对习惯性食用少量或不食用鱼类的健康成年人的认知影响。这一新的次要结局将需要在基线和治疗期结束后进行一系列神经心理学测试，评估工作记忆和一般记忆、精神速度、注意力和执行功能。补充剂对认知表现的任何明显改善都表明膳食缺乏对认知产生负面影响，并且这种表现下降通过增加ω-3脂肪酸消耗以实际方式是可逆的。 公共卫生相关性：长链欧米茄-3脂肪酸是大脑中高度集中的必需营养素，但美国人通常在饮食中很少摄入这些营养素。由于一些证据将低摄入量与认知功能差联系起来，计划中的研究将测试补充omega-3脂肪酸是否能提高思维速度，信息处理和记忆力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients found primarily in fish. Most Americans eat little fish and, therefore, may be at risk for health sequelae. Clinical trail evidence generally indicates beneficial effects of fish oil supplementation: a) on cardiovascular disease incidence in patients with heart disease and, b) in terms of symptom amelioration in psychiatric patient groups. However, the effects of supplementation in the general population are unknown. The applicant and his colleagues have recently received support to conduct a randomized and placebo-controlled clinical experiment in healthy, adult community volunteers to test the effects of fish oil supplementation on markers for cardiovascular disease risk, negative affect and impulsivity. New observational evidence now also links low dietary intake or tissue levels of omega-3 fatty acids to poor cognitive functioning or dementia. The objective of the proposed research is to examine in the context of the described study the putative cognitive effects of supplementation in healthy adults who habitually consume little or no fish. This new, secondary outcome would entail administration of a battery of neuropsychological tests assessing working and general memory, psychomotor speed, attention and executive function at baseline and after at the end of the treatment period. Any demonstrable improvements in cognitive performance with supplementation would indicate both that dietary deficiency negatively affects cognition and that such performance decrements are reversible in a practical manner through increased omega-3 fatty acid consumption. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients that are highly concentrated in the brain yet Americans typically consume very little of these nutrients in their diets. Since some evidence links low intake with poor cognitive function, the planned research would test whether taking a supplement of omega-3 fatty acids improves mental speed, information processing, and memory.