Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18620024›Full record

ArticleNeuroscience2008

Docosahexaenoic acid dietary supplementation enhances the effects of exercise on synaptic plasticity and cognition.

A Wu, Z Ying, F Gomez-Pinilla

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuroscience, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 127 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
127citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
11.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

127 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 297 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. Prediction of cognitive outcome and progression to dementia using ω6-PUFA/ω3-PUFA ratio.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
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67 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

A WuDepartment of Physiological Science, University of California at Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Z Ying
F Gomez-Pinilla
University of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

Restoration of Homeostasis After Brain TraumaR01NS050465 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI GOMEZ-PINILLA, FERNANDO · 2005 to 2019
$5.5M
NINDS NIH HHS NS50465NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS050465
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Omega-3 fatty acids (i.e. docosahexaenoic acid; DHA), similar to exercise, improve cognitive function, promote neuroplasticity, and protect against neurological lesion. In this study, we investigated a possible synergistic action between DHA dietary supplementation and voluntary exercise on modulating synaptic plasticity and cognition. Rats received DHA dietary supplementation (1.25% DHA) with or without voluntary exercise for 12 days. We found that the DHA-enriched diet significantly increased spatial learning ability, and these effects were enhanced by exercise. The DHA-enriched diet increased levels of pro-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and mature BDNF, whereas the additional application of exercise boosted the levels of both. Furthermore, the levels of the activated forms of CREB and synapsin I were incremented by the DHA-enriched diet with greater elevation by the concurrent application of exercise. While the DHA diet reduced hippocampal oxidized protein levels, a combination of a DHA diet and exercise resulted in a greater reduction rate. The levels of activated forms of hippocampal Akt and CaMKII were increased by the DHA-enriched diet, and with even greater elevation by a combination of diet and exercise. Akt and CaMKII signaling are crucial step by which BDNF exerts its action on synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. These results indicate that the DHA diet enhanced the effects of exercise on cognition and BDNF-related synaptic plasticity, a capacity that may be used to promote mental health and reduce risk of neurological disorders.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsPhysical Conditioning, AnimalAnalysis of VarianceAnimalsBehavior, AnimalBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCalcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2CognitionCREB-Binding ProteinDocosahexaenoic AcidsMaze LearningModels, BiologicalNeuronal PlasticityOxidative StressProto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktRatsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCalcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2CREB-Binding ProteinDocosahexaenoic AcidsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt

Identifiers

PMID18620024
PMCPMC3208643
OpenAlexW1995876047

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.