Neurobiological Markers of Individual Differences in Omega-3 Fatty Acids Revealed by Multivariate fMRI
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1
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, United States
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2
University of Illinois College of Medicine, United States
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) are known to have beneficial effects on human brain function and development. Emerging evidence from nutritional epidemiology and neuroscience indicates that ω-3 PUFAs promote healthy brain aging and serve to enhance learning and memory. In recent years, there has been growing interest in understanding the effects of ω-3 PUFAs on brain structure and function. While a large number of studies have investigated the effects of ω-3 PUFAs on the brain when measured at the group level, studies that examine the relationship between ω-3 PUFAs and individual differences in brain function remain to be conducted. In the present study, we therefore applied a multivariate, data-driven approach to investigate the relationship between ω-3 PUFA status (measured from blood-based biomarkers) and individual differences in the functional brain connectome within healthy older adults (N = 96). Our findings reveal that ω-3 PUFA status is associated with individual differences in functional connectivity within brain regions that are known to support executive function (e.g., self-reflection), attention (e.g., mind wandering), and memory (e.g., autobiographical memory). Furthermore, we observed that brain regions sensitive to ω-3 PUFAs primarily engage the default mode network, providing further support for their role in these cognitive processes. We also demonstrate that the observed regions and their global network influence predict performance on a measure of cognitive function, as assessed by the Wechsler test of general intelligence. Our results provide novel evidence that ω-3 PUFAs are associated with individual differences in functional brain connectivity – motivating future research in the field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience to elucidate their role in cognitive health, aging, and disease.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from Abbott Nutrition through the Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory at the University of Illinois (ANGC1205).
Keywords:
omega-3 fatty acid,
multivariate analysis of fMRI,
functional connectivity,
Cognitive neuroscience,
Nutritional Status
Conference:
2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 27 Jun - 29 Jun, 2018.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Neuroergonomics
Citation:
Talukdar
M,
Zamroziewicz
MK,
Zwilling
CE and
Barbey
AK
(2019). Neurobiological Markers of Individual Differences in Omega-3 Fatty Acids Revealed by Multivariate fMRI.
Conference Abstract:
2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.227.00109
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Received:
15 Mar 2018;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
PhD. M. Tanveer Talukdar, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States, ttanveer@illinois.edu