1. Docosahexaenoic Acid
Supplementation and Neurocognitive
Development
Maria Aguilar

2. Why neurocognitive
development?
Neurocognitive development is an
important part of infant
development
Sets the foundation for success or
failure in learning and life
I would like to continue my
education in infant/childhood
development

3. Outline
 DHA background
 DHA in the brain
 Thesis
 Studies: Baboons, DHA insufficiency, and supplementation
 Discussion
 Limitations
 Conclusion

4. What is DHA?
 Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA)
 One of the most abundant LCPUFAs found in the central
nervous system (CNS)
 Obtained in small amounts from precursors Linoleic and α-
linolenic acid
 Available through diet from preformed sources like fatty fish and
fish oil supplementation

5. Recommendations
 No specific DHA recommendation
 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, reports there is
evidence that intake of eight to ten ounces of seafood low in
methyl mercury per week aids in visual and cognitive development.

6. DHA In The Brain
Third trimester of gestation is the time
of greatest DHA accumulation in the
brain during this timeframe
DHA is found in higher concentrations
in grey matter compared to white matter
 Grey matter
 Location of most of the brain’s
neurons, specifically cell bodies
 Roles in cognitive skills and
tasks
 White matter
 Myelinated axons which
connects grey areas of the
brain together
 Carry nerve impulses between
neurons
 Myelin helps increase the
speed of transmission of
nerve signals

7. Thesis
“To develop a better understanding of the role of DHA in infant
neurocognitive development; both prenatally and postnatally, trials in
brain development, DHA insufficiency, and supplementations need to
be compared in order to determine if an increase of DHA intake is
necessary to promote development”.

8. “The influence of long chain polyunsaturate
supplementation on docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic
acid in baboon neonate central nervous system.”
 12 baboon neonates born ~182 days gestation chosen and split
into 3 groups of 4 per group
 Each group fed a different formula for twelve weeks
 Control formula: did not contain DHA and ARA (C)
 Formula 2: contained 0.33% DHA and 0.67% ARA (L)
 Formula 3: contained 1% DHA and 0.67% ARA (L3)
 Blinded study

9. Data Collection
 At 12 weeks the baboons were euthanized and tissue was collected from the
precentral gyrus (site involved in planning, control, and voluntary
movements) of the cerebral cortex and used for a microarray analysis
 A microarray analysis is used to test DNA fragments to measure the
expression levels of a large number of genes
 Gene expression is the process by which the information from a gene is used

10. Results
 Changes were reported in expression levels of 1108 probe sets
between L2/C formulas and L3/C formulas
 More probes resulted to be upregulated in the cerebral cortex in
response to formula containing ARA and DHA.
 Probes that showed upregulation where characterized having
functions ranging from lipid metabolism, development, visual
perception, G-protein and signal transduction, regulation of
transcription cell cycle, and others.

11. Values go through
either an
inverse/reciprocal
transformation or a
logarithmic
transformation,
which is why some
numbers are negative
and some are positive

12. "Omega-3 Fatty Acid Deficiency in Infants before
Birth Identified Using a Randomized Trial of
Maternal DHA Supplementation in Pregnancy."
 Double blind, randomized trial
 Had to be within 16 weeks of gestation, not taking any kind of lipid or
fatty acid supplementation, and not expected to have any complications
throughout the rest of the pregnancy
 Mothers socio-demographic characteristics and IQ assessed
 400 mg/d DHA or a placebo containing corn and soybean oil (Does not
contain DHA).
 114 women in DHA group
 103 women in placebo group

13. Results
 Infants who received the placebo had a higher risk of not reaching
the same level of language skills as the DHA group.
 Infants in the placebo group were at increased risk of not reaching
the same visual acuity level as the DHA group
 Ability for the eye to see fine detail

14. “Effects of Early Maternal Docosahexaenoic Acid
Intake on Neuropsychological Status and Visual Acuity
at Five Years of Age of Breast-Fed Term Infants”
 Mothers given either a capsule containing 200 mg/d of DHA or a
capsule containing vegetable oil from the time of delivery until 4
months postpartum
 60 mothers in DHA group
 59 mothers in control group
 Infants were breastfed during this 4 month timeframe

15. Results
 Children’s whose mothers received the DHA supplementation had a
significantly higher Bayley Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) at 30
months of age compared to children whose mothers received the placebo
 PDI: Refers to motor skill, conceptual functioning, and psychological functioning
 Children were followed for 5 years and assessed on their visual function and
neurodevelopmental outcomes
 Results showed there were no significant differences between the two groups in
visual function
 Neurodevelopmental outcomes showed no difference between the groups on
measures of gross motor development, fine motor development,
perceptual/visual motor development, verbal skills, or emerging executive factors
 Children whose mothers received the DHA supplement performed better on the
sustained attention subtest of the Leiter International Performance Scale

16. Discussion
 Results of prenatal and postnatal supplementation studies varied
depending on the timing of DHA supplementation and age in
which the assessment was conducted
 Studies found that DHA was more beneficial prenatally and in the
early stages of infancy compared to later in childhood
 DHA in the body is able to reach levels low enough to affect
neurocognitive development

17. Limitations
 Unethical
 Subject adherence was not the best in the studies
 Information is up for individual interpretations because
studies conducted hold different limits and different tests
are used to analyze the data
 Most research included ARA so it was hard finding
studies that only focused on DHA supplementation

18. Should DHA supplementation be included in
prenatal vitamin recommendations?
 Prenatal supplementations have been
recommended for women who are pregnant
or trying to become pregnant, to improve
their health and the health of their offspring.
 Inconclusive results
 More research still needs to be done in order
to make a decision

19. Conclusion
 There seems to be more data that shows DHA
supplementation might be more beneficial to infants born
preterm than infants born at term
 More beneficial in early stages of infancy compared to
later in childhood
 Still can not come to the conclusion that DHA should be
added to prenatal supplementation until more research is
done.

20. References
 Diaz, Guan-Yeu, Andrea T. Hsieh, Eszter A. Sarkadi-Nagy, Vasuki
Wijendran, and Peter W. Nathanielsz. "The influence of long chain
polyunsaturate supplementation on docosahexaenoic acid and
arachidonic acid in baboon neonate central nervous system." BioMed
Cental Medicine 3.11 (2005). PubMed. Web. 1 Jan. 2016
 Mulder, Kelly A., D. Janette King, and Sheila M. Innis. "Omega-3 Fatty
Acid Deficiency in Infants before Birth Identified Using a Randomized
Trial of Maternal DHA Supplementation in Pregnancy." PLOS ONE 9.1.
PubMed. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
 Jensen, Craig L., Robert G. Voigt, Antonio M. Llorente, Sarika U. Peters,
and Thomas C. Prager. "Effects of Early Maternal Docosahexaenoic
Acid Intake on Neuropsychological Status and Visual Acuity at Five
Years of Age of Breast-Fed Term Infants." The Journal of Pediatrics 157.6
(2010). PubMed. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.

21. Photo Credit
 http://www.nurturedbydesign.com/en/thezaky/medical-
staff_outcome_proposition.php
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docosahexaenoic_acid
 http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fish-oil-dangerous
 https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/histology-of-nerve-lab/deck/7869708
 https://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/histology-of-nerve-lab/deck/7869708
 http://biosocialmethods.isr.umich.edu/epigenetics-tutorial/epigenetics-tutorial-gene-
expression-from-dna-to-protein/
 http://www.inwealthandhealth.com/prenatal-dha-its-just-as-important-as-your-
prenatal-vitamin/