Total red blood cell concentrations of ω-3 fatty acids are associated with emotion-elicited neural activity in adolescent boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Gow, Rachel V.; Matsudaira, Toshiko; Taylor, Eric; Rubia, Katya; Crawford, Michael; Ghebremeskel, Kebreab; Ibrahimovic, Almira; Vallée-Tourangeau, Frédéric; Williams, Leanne M.; Sumich, Alexander

doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2008.12.007

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Volume 80, Issue 2 , Pages 151-156, February 2009

Total red blood cell concentrations of ω-3 fatty acids are associated with emotion-elicited neural activity in adolescent boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Rachel V. Gow
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, PO Box 85, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE58AF, UK
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +442078480475; fax: +442079192116.
Toshiko Matsudaira
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, PO Box 85, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE58AF, UK
Eric Taylor
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, PO Box 85, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE58AF, UK
Katya Rubia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Social, Genetic, Developmental Psychiatry (IRG), Social, Genetic, Developmental Psychiatry Centre (MRC), UK
Michael Crawford
- Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, London Metropolitan University, UK
Kebreab Ghebremeskel
- Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, London Metropolitan University, UK
Almira Ibrahimovic
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, PO Box 85, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE58AF, UK
Frédéric Vallée-Tourangeau
- Department of Psychology, Kingston University, London, UK
Leanne M. Williams
- Department of Psychological Medicine, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Alexander Sumich
- Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King's College, London, UK

Received 17 November 2008; received in revised form 14 December 2008; accepted 30 December 2008. published online 25 August 2009.

Abstract

Affective impairment is observed in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Low levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), specifically omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acids in blood measures have been linked to a range of behavioural and mood disorders including ADHD. However, nothing is known about the relationship between ω-3 and brain function in children with ADHD. In the current study, 20 adolescent boys with ADHD were assessed for total lipid fractions in red blood cells and their event-related potential (ERP) response to the presentation of facial expressions of happiness, sadness and fearfulness. The results supported the hypothesis of a positive association between eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and a cognitive bias in orientation to overt expressions of happiness over both sad and fearful faces as indexed by midline frontal P300 amplitude. Additional exploratory analyses revealed a positive association between levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the right temporal N170 amplitude in response to covert expressions of fear. The arachidonic (AA)/DHA ratio was negatively associated with the right temporal N170 amplitude also to covert expressions of fear. These findings indicate that EPA and DHA may be involved in distinct aspects of affect processing in ADHD and have implications for understanding currently inconsistent findings in the literature on EFA supplementation in ADHD and depression.

Keywords: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Brain function, Event-related potentials, Emotion processing, Omega-3 fatty acids