Silvia Migliorini

Cognitive and physiological effects of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in healthy subjects

Background  It has been reported that Omega‐3 fatty acids may play a role in nervous system activity and that they improve cognitive development and reference memory‐related learning, increase neuroplasticity of nerve membranes, contribute to synaptogenesis and are involved in synaptic transmission. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Omega‐3 supplementation on some cognitive and physiological parameters in healthy subjects.

Effect of mental imagery on the development of skilled motor actions.

To test the effect of imagery in the training of skilled movements, an experiment was designed in which athletes learned a new motor action and trained themselves for a month either by overt action or by mental imagery of the action. The experiment was carried out with 30 male karateka (M age = 35 yr., SD = 8.7; M years of practice = 6, SD = 3) instructed to perform an action (Ura-Shuto-Uchi) that they had not previously learned. The athletes were divided into three groups: Untrained (10 subjects who did not perform any training), Action Trained (10 subjects who performed Ura-Shuto-Uchi training daily for 16 minutes), and Mental Imagery (10 subjects who performed mental imagery training of Ura-Shuto-Uchi daily for 16 minutes). The subjects were tested five times, once every 7 days. During each test, they performed a series of 60 motor action trials. In Tests 1, 3, and 5, they also performed a series of 60 mental imagery trials. During the trials, an electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyography (EMG), muscle strength and power, and other physiological parameters were recorded. The results differed by group. Untrained subjects did not show significant effects. In the Action Trained group, training had an effect on reactivity and movement speed, with a reduction of EMG activation and reaction times. Moreover, muscle strength, power, and work increased significantly. The Mental Imagery group showed the same effects on muscle strength, power, and work, but changes in reactivity were not observed. In the Mental Imagery group, the study of Movement Related Brain Macropotentials indicated a progressive modification of the profile of the waves from Test 1 to Test 5 during imagery, showing significant variations of the amplitude of the waves related to the premotor and motor execution periods. Results show that motor imagery can influence muscular abilities such as strength and power and can modify Movement Related Brain Macropotentials, the profile of which potentially could be used to verify the effectiveness of motor imagery training.

Attention in Athletes of High and Low Experience Engaged in Different Open Skill Sports

In this study were examined differences in attentional style of athletes engaged in two open skill sports requiring high reactivity (karate and volleyball) in groups with high or low experience. 42 healthy men, 24 volleyball players, 12 of High Experience (first division Italian League players whose M age was 28 yr. (SD = 5) and 12 of Low Experience (prejunior Italian team athletes whose M age was 19 yr. (SD = 2), and 18 karateka, 9 of High Experience (3rd and 4th dan black belt athletes whose M age was 31 yr., SD = 5) and 9 of Low Experience (1st and 2nd dan black belt karateka whose M age was 32 yr., SD = 5). Tests involved different types of attention: Alert, Go/No-Go, Divided Attention, and Working Memory. For each one, the reaction time (RT), variability, change in RT, and number of errors were analysed. Karateka of High Experience reacted faster than those of Low Experience on the simple RT test, Alert (M RT: 204 vs 237 msec., p < .01), while on the Divided Attention test, the High Experience subjects performed more poorly and committed more errors (M errors: 4.89 vs 1.44, p < .003). Young volleyball players of Low Experience reacted faster than colleagues of High Experience on the Alert (M RT: 187 vs 210 msec., p < .01) and Divided Attention tests (M RT: 590 vs 688 msec., p < .001) but committed more errors (Divided Attention test, M errors: 6.50 vs 3.08, p < .007). For the Divided Attention and Working Memory tests, correlations were positive among errors, RT, and RT variability but only for volleyball athletes of High Experience, suggesting they showed higher attention and stability in complex reactions than the group with Low Experience. No significant correlations were noted for either group of karateka on complex reactions. Results suggested that the attentional resources were engaged in different ways in the two groups of athletes and, in each group, there were differences between persons of High and Low Experience.

Heart-rate control during pain and suggestions of analgesia without deliberate induction of hypnosis.

Abstract Heart rate and heart-rate variability (HRV) were studied through a set of different methods in high (highs) and low hypnotizable subjects (lows) not receiving any deliberate hypnotic induction in basal conditions (simple relaxation) and during nociceptive-pressor stimulation with and without suggestions of analgesia. ANOVA did not reveal any difference between highs and lows for heart rate and for the HRV indexes extracted from the series of the interbeat intervals (RR) of the ECG in the frequency (spectral analysis) and time domain (standard deviation, Poincaré plot) in both basal and stimulation conditions. Factors possibly accounting for the results and likely responsible for an underestimation of group differences are discussed.

Effect of Omega-3 and Policosanol Supplementation on Attention and Reactivity in Athletes

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of omega-3 fatty acids and policosanol supplementation on the cognitive processes involved in the control of reactivity in karateka engaged in attention tests. Methods: Eighteen karateka were randomly assigned to 2 groups. One group (10 subjects) took the supplement of omega-3 fatty acids (2.25 g) plus policosanol (10 mg) (O3 + P) for 21 days, and the other group was supplemented with placebo (oleic sunflower oil). Subjects were tested at the beginning of the experiment (Test 1), after 21 days (Test 2), and after 42 days (Test 3). The experimental procedure consisted of an Alert and a Sustained Attention (SA) reaction time test: the subject had to react by pressing a key of a computer keyboard in Alert and a sequence of 3 keys in SA in response to stimuli, activating a complex go/no-go paradigm. For each test, we recorded the reaction time and the event-related potentials by electroencephalogram and electromyography (EMG) of the forefinger flexor muscle. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) test was also administered. Results: After 21 days of supplementation, subjects who received O3 + P showed a reduced reaction time and increased vigor sensation associated with a reduction of the negative states measured with the POMS test. Analysis of the event-related brain potentials showed a reduced latency of the movement-related brain macropotentials. In particular, the potentials recorded in the premotor period and motor period occurred earlier and the latency of EMG activation was reduced. In the third test, 21 days after the last O3 + P supplementation, the positive effects on the mood state persisted, while the reaction time, EMG, and brain potential latencies increased, although their values remained lower than in the first test. The placebo group did not show any significant differences in Tests 2 and 3 compared to Test 1 for either POMS or reactivity and brain potentials. Conclusions: Supplementation with O3 + P may be effective in improving mood state and reactivity. The reaction time reduction appears to be due to a central nervous system effect, as shown by the reduced latency of movement-related brain macropotentials and EMG activation. These results are in line with previous experiments.

Administration of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reduces Positive Tender Point Count in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Patients

Dietary supplementation of omega-3 (n-3) is becoming increasingly popular as a complementary treatment of chronic inflammatory pain diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of short-term (35 days) n-3 supplementation on physiological/psychophysical variables and clinical symptoms in patients with musculoskeletal pain and fibromyalgia. Patients (N=41, all women), blindly assigned to two groups according to dietary supplementation (fish oil containing n-3 or sunflower oil), underwent quantitative sensory testing and completed questionnaires concerning anamnestic/epidemiological data, pain characteristics and mood. In the n-3 group there was a sharp reduction in both the arachidonic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio (AA/EPA) and the number of positive tender points, but no changes occurred in superficial thermal (heat and cold) and mechanical thresholds (von Frey hairs). There were no modifications in the sunflower oil group. The supplement had no effect on blood lipids and questionnaires indicated no effect on mood, sleep problems and other pain indicators. The present results encourage clinical trials in larger samples to compare the effects of different daily amounts and treatment durations of n-3 supplementation.

Internal–External Motor Imagery and Skilled Motor Actions

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyze the movement-related brain macropotentials (MRBMs) recorded during the execution of two tests of motor imagery: kinaesthetic (internal) and visual (external). Recordings were compared with those obtained performing a GO/NOGO motor test. The GO test required pressure of three keys of a modified keyboard in sequence when a figure appeared in the computer screen. On NOGO trials no button had to be pressed. Motor imagery tests were an internal or kinaesthetic imagination test (IN MI) on which participants imagined performing the pressure of keyboard buttons, avoiding any real movement, and an external or visual imagination test (EX MI) on which subjects were asked to imagine seeing their finger press the buttons. With the completion of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire, the participants were assigned into two groups: high (11) and low (10) capacity of imagination. The results showed an increase in the amplitude of the MRBMs wave occurring in the prestimulus period of imagination, with respect to real motor action. In the poststimulus period, the amplitude and duration of the waves recorded during motor action were higher than those recorded during the motor imagery tests. The comparison between EX and IN MI showed a lower latency and a higher amplitude of the brain waves recorded during internal motor imagery with respect to those observed during EX MI. The experimental data confirm that real motor activity is related to higher amplitude MRBMs than motor imagery. The profile of the waves recorded during internal imagery seems to be related to a higher brain involvement compared to those recorded during external visual imagery; it suggest that the kinaesthetic process of imagination is more efficient in information processing and motor skill acquisition.

794 EFFECTS OF OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTATION ON CHRONIC WIDESPREAD MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN PATIENTS

Background and Aims: Opioid receptors on peripheral sensory nerve are responsible for local analgesic effect of exogenous opioid agonists applied on the inflammated skin. It is investigated in medical laboratories to try to find proper formulations for topical application of opioids on painful skin and mucosal ulcerations. We tried to estimate optimal composition of bases containing morphine sulphate and morphine hydrochloride. Pharmaco-therapeutic efficacy is determined by physicochemical characteristic of biological activity of substance and it composition, investigations has been made to check the rate of morphine sulphate and morphine hydrochloride from developed preparations. Material and Methods: In a prescription proceeding mode there were developed alternative forms of preparations for topical application hydrogel and ointment of an absorption cream type (water/oil) with a transition promotors of morphine sulphate content ~0.2% and morphine hydrochloride 0.225%. The preparations were studied by a rheological adhesiveness, tixothropy (ointment adhesiveness on increasing or decreasing speed of mixing in time dependence), hydrogen ion activity (aH+, pH), practical density (dp) and influence of transdermal transition promoters type (ox-ethylated lanolin, mono, di, triethanoloamins) on the diffusion slow kinetics of morphine sulphate and morphine hydrochloride. Results: Investigations shows, according to the interaction between morphine sulphate, morphine hydrochloride and different base compositions, that we receive different rheological adhesives of preparations. Conclusions: The kinetic of releasing morphine sulphate was faster in all preparations than morphine hydrochloride. Acidity (pH) levels in developed substances were included in physiological tolerance limits of skin and mucosa.