Omega-3 Fatty Acids Are Related to Abnormal Emotion Processing in Adolescent Boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Overview

Journal Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids

Specialty Endocrinology

Date 2013 May 11

PMID 23660373

Citations 6

Authors

Rachel V Gow

Alexander Sumich

Frederic Vallee-Tourangeau

Michael Angus Crawford

Kebreab Ghebremeskel

Allain A Bueno

Joseph R Hibbeln

Eric Taylor

Daniel A Wilson

Katya Rubia

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: In addition to the core symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with poor emotion regulation. There is some evidence that children and young adults with ADHD have lower omega-3 levels and that supplementation with omega-3 can improve both ADHD and affective symptoms. We therefore investigated differences between ADHD and non-ADHD children in omega-3/6 fatty acid plasma levels and the relationship between those indices and emotion-elicited event-related potentials (ERPs).

Methods: Children/adolescents with (n=31) and without ADHD (n=32) were compared in their plasma omega-3/6 indices and corresponding ERPs during an emotion processing task.

Results: Children with ADHD had lower mean omega-3/6 and ERP abnormalities in emotion processing, independent of emotional valence relative to control children. ERP abnormalities were significantly associated with lower omega-3 levels in the ADHD group.

Conclusions: The findings reveal for the first time that lower omega-3 fatty acids are associated with impaired emotion processing in ADHD children.

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