| First Author | Arsenault D | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | PLoS One | Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | e17397 |
| PubMed ID | 21383850 | Mgi Jnum | J:171054 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4948382 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0017397 |
| Citation | Arsenault D, et al. (2011) DHA improves cognition and prevents dysfunction of entorhinal cortex neurons in 3xTg-AD mice. PLoS One 6(2):e17397 |
| abstractText | Defects in neuronal activity of the entorhinal cortex (EC) are suspected to underlie the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whereas neuroprotective effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been described, the effects of DHA on the physiology of EC neurons remain unexplored in animal models of AD. Here, we show that DHA consumption improved object recognition ( upward arrow12%), preventing deficits observed in old 3xTg-AD mice ( downward arrow12%). Moreover, 3xTg-AD mice displayed seizure-like akinetic episodes, not detected in NonTg littermates and partly prevented by DHA ( downward arrow50%). Patch-clamp recording revealed that 3xTg-AD EC neurons displayed (i) loss of cell capacitance (CC), suggesting reduced membrane surface area; (ii) increase of firing rate versus injected current (F-I) curve associated with modified action potentials, and (iii) overactivation of glutamatergic synapses, without changes in synaptophysin levels. DHA consumption increased CC ( upward arrow12%) and decreased F-I slopes ( downward arrow21%), thereby preventing the opposite alterations observed in 3xTg-AD mice. Our results indicate that cognitive performance and basic physiology of EC neurons depend on DHA intake in a mouse model of AD. |
