• Wenbin Li, Du Lei, Maxwell J Tallman, L Rodrigo Patino, Qiyong Gong, Jeffrey R Strawn, Melissa P DelBello, and Robert K McNamara.
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Division of Bipolar Disorders Research, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States; Departments of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
• J Affect Disord. 2021 Sep 1; 292: 319-327.

IntroductionMood disorders are associated with fronto-limbic structural and functional abnormalities and deficits in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Emerging evidence also suggests that n-3 PUFA, which are enriched in fish oil, promote cortical plasticity and connectivity. The present study performed a graph-based connectome analysis to investigate the role of n-3 PUFA in emotion-related network organization in medication-free depressed adolescent bipolar offspring.MethodsAt baseline patients (n = 53) were compared with healthy controls (n = 53), and patients were then randomized to 12-week double-blind treatment with placebo or fish oil. At baseline and endpoint, erythrocyte EPA+DHA levels were measured and fMRI scans (4 Tesla) were obtained while performing a continuous performance task with emotional and neutral distractors (CPT-END). Graph-based analysis was used to characterize topological properties of large-scale brain network organization.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, patients exhibited lower erythrocyte EPA+DHA levels (p = 0.0001), lower network clustering coefficients (p = 0.029), global efficiency (p = 0.042), and lower node centrality and connectivity strengths in frontal-limbic regions (p<0.05). Compared with placebo, 12-week fish oil supplementation increased erythrocyte EPA+DHA levels (p<0.001), network clustering coefficient (p = 0.005), global (p = 0.047) and local (p = 0.023) efficiency, and node centralities mainly in temporal regions (p<0.05).LimitationsThe duration of fish oil supplementation was relatively short and the sample size was relatively small.ConclusionsThese findings provide preliminary evidence that abnormalities in emotion-related network organization observed in depressed high-risk youth may be amenable to modification through fish oil supplementation.Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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