Clinical Trial: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) Status and Cognitive Function in Healthy Young Adults

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: The Relationship Between Serum PUFAs and Cognitive Function in Healthy Young Adults

Brief Summary: To date, the relationship between omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) in cognitively intact individuals has only been examined in a limited number of studies; it is at present unknown whether supplementation with n-3 PUFAs can improve cognitive function and mood in this population. Further to this, it still remains to be established whether a relationship exists between peripheral fatty acid status—reflective of dietary n-3 PUFA intake—and cognitive function in this population. The current study therefore aims to address this issue by exploring the relationship between serum PUFAs and specific cognitive functions in a sample of healthy adults. To this end, participants will complete a range of cognitive tasks evaluating performance across the domains of attention, memory and executive function. Self-report mood assessments will be included as secondary measures.

Detailed Summary:
Sponsor: Northumbria University

Current Primary Outcome:

  • Simple Reaction Time (Attention) [ Time Frame: Single visit ]
    The participant was instructed to press the 'space bar' on the laptop keyboard as quickly as possible every time an upwards pointing arrow appeared on screen. Fifty stimuli were presented with an inter-stimulus duration that varied randomly between 1 and 3.5 seconds.
  • Choice Reaction Time (Attention) [ Time Frame: Single visit ]
    An arrow appeared on the screen pointing to the left or to the right. Participants responded with a left or right key press corresponding to the direction of the arrow. There was a randomly varying inter-stimulus interval of between 1 and 3 seconds for a total of fifty stimuli.
  • Four Choice Reaction Time (Attention) [ Time Frame: Single visit ]
    A visual representation of the four direction arrow keys of a standard keyboard was presented on screen. The arrows 'lit up' at random on screen until the corresponding key press was made. In all, each arrow was the target stimulus 12 times, forming a total of 48 stimuli for this task in all.
  • Numeric Working Memory (Working Memory) [ Time Frame: Single visit ]
  • Alphabetic Working Memory (Working Memory) [ Time Frame: Single visit ]
    Five random letters (A-Z) were presented sequentially for the participant to hold in memory. This was followed by a series of 30 probe digits (15 targets and 15 distractors) for each of which the participant indicated whether or not it had been in the original series by a simple key press. The task con

    Original Primary Outcome: Cognitive function and mood [ Time Frame: Single visit ]

    Participants will attend one session where cognitive performance and mood will be assessed


    Current Secondary Outcome: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) [ Time Frame: Single visit-90 minutes ]

    The DASS is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. Each of the three DASS scales contains 14 items. Subjects are asked to use 4-point (0-3) severity/frequency scales to rate the extent to which they have experienced each state over the past week. Scores for Depression, Anxiety and Stress (0-42) are calculated by summing the scores for the relevant items, with higher scores indicating higher incidence of negative emotional symptoms. A total score can be derived by adding scores from each of the subscales (0-126).


    Original Secondary Outcome:

    Information By: Northumbria University

    Dates:
    Date Received: February 24, 2010
    Date Started: July 2007
    Date Completion:
    Last Updated: August 2, 2011
    Last Verified: August 2011