Docosahexaenoic acid가 전기충격성 뇌장애 마우스의 기억력 및 Acetylcholine량 변화에 미치는 영향

The Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid on Brain Function and Acetylcholine Level in Cerebral Cortex of Electroconvulsive Shock Induced Mice

Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) increases the activity of acetylcholinesterase and decreases in brain acetylcholine levels. A large amount of free fatty acids accumulated in the brain tissue affects cerebral blood flow, brain edema and inflammation and results in brain injury. The present study examined the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and D,L-pyroglutamic acid (D,L-PCA) on the learning and memory deficit using the passive avoidance failure technique and on the change of acetylcholine and choline level in the cerebral cortex of ECS-induced mice. The application of ECS (25mA, 0.5 sec) induced a significant decrease in memory function for 30 min. ECS-induced a significant decrease in cortical acetylcholine and choline levels 1 min following the ECS application, which were almost recovered to ECS control level after 30 min. DHA (20mg/kg, i.p.), administered 24 hr before shock, prevented the ECS-induced passive avoidance failure and the decrease of acetylcholine level 1 min following the ECS application. DHA failed to elicit a change in cortical choline level. DHA did not affect memory function and the cortical Ach and choline level of normal mice. The administration of D,L-PCA (500mg/kg, i.p.) increased the effect of DHA on memory function and the change of cortical acetylcholine level of ECS induced mice. These results suggest that DHA treatment may be contributed to the prevention against memory deficit and to the activation of cholinergic system in the ECS induced mice.