Mechanism of docosahexaenoic acid in the enhancement of neuronal signalling

Microelectrode array (MEA) has attracted paramount attention from
neuroscientific community to explore and understand the working principle of
nervous systems and the effect of drugs on the behaviour of neurons. In this
work, we attempt to explore the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the
overall neuronal spike activity as well as the spontaneous activity patterns of
primary cortical neurons employing MEA technology. Neocortex neurons of
C57BL/6 mice were cultured on MEA for two weeks until maturation and then
treated with 10 µg/ml DHA for 48 hours. Our results demonstrated that DHA
supplementation enhanced the overall spike activity (454.35 spikes/sec) of the
neurons compared to the non-treated control (297.01spikes/sec). This is a preliminary
study to explore the changes in the electrophysiological properties of
neurons in response to DHA. Our results indicated the potential use of DHA in
improving neuronal signalling indicating it could be helpful in improving the
diseased condition of neuronal disorders particularly in Alzheimer’s disease
(AD).