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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Omega-3s Boost the Brain's Grey Matter to Improve
Mood
Eating fatty fish protects senior citizens' hearts,
may make them happier
 March
7, 2007 – Consuming fish with omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and tuna,
may not only protect senior citizens from heart disease, it may make
them happier. A previous study found people with higher blood levels of
omega-3s were more agreeable and less likely to be depressed. The latest
study finds omega-3 increases the grey matter in the brain that is
associated with mood and behavior.
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The University of Pittsburgh study will be
presented today by Sarah M. Conklin, Ph.D., postdoctoral scholar at the
Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Program in the department of
psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, at the American
Psychosomatic Society’s Annual Meeting, held in Budapest, Hungary.
Animal research has shown that raising omega-3
intake leads to structural brain changes.
In the earlier study, presented by Dr. Conklin at
the society’s meeting last year, Pitt researchers reported that people
who had lower blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were more likely to
have a negative outlook and be more impulsive. Conversely, those with
higher blood levels of omega-3s were found to be more agreeable and less
likely to report mild or moderate symptoms of depression.
In the study being presented today, the researchers
sought to investigate if grey matter volume was proportionally related
to long-chain omega-3 intake in humans, especially in areas of the brain
related to mood, helping them attempt to explain the mechanisms behind
the improvement in mood often associated with long-chain omega-3 intake.
Researchers interviewed 55 healthy adult
participants to determine their average intake of long-chain omega-3
fatty acids. Grey matter volume was evaluated using high-resolution
structural MRI.
The researchers discovered that participants who
had high levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake had higher
volumes of grey matter in areas of the brain associated with emotional
arousal and regulation – the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, the
right amygdala and the right hippocampus.
While this finding suggests that omega-3s may
promote structural improvement in areas of the brain related to mood and
emotion regulation – the same areas where grey matter is reduced in
people who have mood disorders such as major depressive disorder –
investigators note that more research is needed to determine whether
fish consumption actually causes changes in the brain.
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