Dietary lipids in relation to postnatal development of the brain.

The brain has generally been viewed as an organ resistant to structural changes induced by exogenous factors. Research has shown, however, that the brain responds to changes in diet by altering neurotransmitter synthesis thereby shifting neuroendocrine controls over a variety of physiological events. Research from our lab utilizing an animal model indicates that the fatty acid constituents and synthesis of brain structural lipid in membranes undergoing turnover can be altered by changing the composition of dietary fat. The balance of n-6 to n-3 fatty acid fed influences brain phospholipid fatty acid composition, phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase activity and rate of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis via the CDP-choline pathway. It may be concluded that biosynthetic control mechanisms regulating synthesis of brain structural lipid, in particular phosphatidylcholine, respond to exogenous factors and represent a normal physiological response by the brain. This response may conceivably be used as a mechanism for therapeutic treatment of disorders involving degeneration of brain structural lipid.