Saturated free fatty acids and association with memory formation

Tristan P. Wallis, Bharat G. Venkatesh, Vinod K. Narayana, David Kvaskoff, Alan Ho, Robert K. Sullivan, François Windels, Pankaj Sah and Frédéric A. Meunier ()
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Tristan P. Wallis: The University of Queensland
Bharat G. Venkatesh: The University of Queensland
Vinod K. Narayana: The University of Queensland
David Kvaskoff: The University of Queensland
Alan Ho: The University of Queensland
Robert K. Sullivan: The University of Queensland
François Windels: The University of Queensland
Pankaj Sah: The University of Queensland
Frédéric A. Meunier: The University of Queensland

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Polyunsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs) such as arachidonic acid, released by phospholipase activity on membrane phospholipids, have long been considered beneficial for learning and memory and are known modulators of neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. However, the precise nature of other FFA and phospholipid changes in specific areas of the brain during learning is unknown. Here, using a targeted lipidomics approach to characterise FFAs and phospholipids across the rat brain, we demonstrated that the highest concentrations of these analytes were found in areas of the brain classically involved in fear learning and memory, such as the amygdala. Auditory fear conditioning led to an increase in saturated (particularly myristic and palmitic acids) and to a lesser extent unsaturated FFAs (predominantly arachidonic acid) in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Both fear conditioning and changes in FFA required activation of NMDA receptors. These results suggest a role for saturated FFAs in memory acquisition.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23840-3

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