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ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders

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01-06-2014 | Short Communication

The effects of nutritional polyunsaturated fatty acids on locomotor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Authors: Joachim Hauser, Ewelina Makulska-Gertruda, Andreas Reissmann, Thomas-A. Sontag, Oliver Tucha, Klaus W. Lange

Published in: ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders | Issue 2/2014

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of nutritional omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on locomotor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), which are used as an animal model of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For 6 weeks, two groups of randomly assigned SHRs received food either enriched with or deficient in omega-3 fatty acids (based on the American Institute of Nutrition—93 G/AIN93G). Using an open field, locomotor activity was subsequently assessed for 6 days. A marked difference in locomotor activity as assessed by the distance travelled in the open field was found between the two groups of rats. In comparison with rats fed with omega-3 fatty acid-enriched food, the animals on the omega-3 fatty acid-deficient diet showed a significantly higher locomotor activity. The present findings demonstrated that nutritional enrichment with omega-3 fatty acids was associated with reduced motor activity in an established animal model of ADHD and support the notion that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may play a role in the pathophysiology of ADHD.

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Title: The effects of nutritional polyunsaturated fatty acids on locomotor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Joachim Hauser
Ewelina Makulska-Gertruda
Andreas Reissmann
Thomas-A. Sontag
Oliver Tucha
Klaus W. Lange
Publication date: 01-06-2014
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders / Issue 2/2014
Print ISSN: 1866-6116
Electronic ISSN: 1866-6647
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-013-0125-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

The effects of nutritional polyunsaturated fatty acids on locomotor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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