Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Vanessa Athaide Garcia | Email: vanessaathaide@gmail.com
Vanessa Athaide 1°, Cristina Cabrera 2°, Ali Sadoon 3°
1° Seccion Fisiologia y Nutricion – Facultad de Ciencias – Universidad de la Republica
2° Departamento Producción Animal y Pasturas, Facultad de Agronomia – Universidad de la Republica
3° Seccion Fisiologia y Nutricion – Facultad de Ciencias y Departamento Producción Animal y Pasturas, Facultad de Agronomia – Universidad de la Republica
Selenium (Se) deficiency has been associated with several brain disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the rapidly developing brain is particularly sensitive to Se levels. Based on these findings, our aim was to evaluate the effects of a Se supplemented diet on memory processes in adolescence and adulthood in healthy rats. To test this, male pups were randomly divided into 2 groups at 21 days (post-weaning): Se-Adequate (SeA) (n=12) and Se-Supplemented (SeS) (n=12). At adolescence (D40) and adulthood (D70), novel object recognition and object location tests were performed. In the object recognition test, the group exposed to the SeS diet during adolescence showed greater long-term memory retention compared to the adolescent SeA group. In the object location test, the adult SeS group showed an increase in long-term memory retention compared to the adolescent SeS group. These results, showing that a Se supplemented diet initiated early in development and maintained until adulthood can improve different types of memory at different stages of life in healthy rats, suggest a protective role of Se not only against neurodegenerative diseases but also in the prevention of these diseases.