Increasing availability of ω‐3 fatty acid in the early‐life diet prevents the early‐life stress‐induced cognitive impairments without affecting metabolic alterations

What is it about?

Nutrition protects the early-life stress exposed brain Stress early in life leads to an increased vulnerability in learning and memory deficits as well as metabolic disorders in adulthood. Here, we focused on essential fatty acids (FA), and tested if early diet with increased availability of omega-3 FA could prevent the adverse early-life stress effects on the brain and metabolism. We exposed mice to a stressful environment during the first week of life, while receiving a diet containing either a high or a low omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and thereby modulating omega-3 availability during the first 42 days of their life. We demonstrated that the diet increasing the availability of omega-3 prevented the early-life stress impairments on adult cognition, but did not rescue the metabolic alterations. The diet also rescued the early-stress induced changes in the number of adult hippocampal newborn neurons and phagocytic microglia, which might contribute to the beneficial effects of the diet on cognition. This study highlights the importance of early nutrition for brain functions and creates novel avenues for interventions in populations affected by stress early in life.

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