Effect of dietary alpha-linolenic acid deficiency on habituation

Three weeks before mating, two groups of SWISS OF1 mice were fed a diet that was similar but contained either peanut oil poor in alpha-linolenic acid [18:3(n-3)] (n-3 deficient = deficient mice = (n-3)-) or peanut + rapeseed oil rich in alpha-linolenic acid (n-3 nondeficient = controls = (n-3)+). Pups, fed the same diet as their dams, aged 45 to 62 days were used for brain lipid analysis and for behavioral experiments, aimed at determining whether there is a relation between the dietary intake of alpha-linolenate and a simple form of learning: habituation. The behavior of mice was compared using four models: exploration recorded in a photocell actimeter, activity in an open-field, duration of immobility in the forced swimming test and number of escape attempts from a small closed space. Habituation was measured by testing the mice in the same situation after some time had elapsed since the first test. Exploration in the photocell actimeter was significantly reduced between day 1 and 4 in nondeficient mice, but, not in deficient mice. The number of square crossings in the open-field was significantly reduced on the second test neither in the control nor in the deficient mice. In the forced swimming test, the habituation (increase in duration of immobility) was significantly greater (255%) in nondeficient than in deficient mice (163%). In the escape attempt experiment, the habituation showed a trend to be greater in controls than in deficient mice (p = 0.061) and was significantly greater in females than in males (p = 0.028). These results suggest that a simple form of learning, habituation, occurs more slowly in mice fed a diet deficient in alpha-linolenic acid.