Monkeys Fed Omega-3-Rich Diet Have Highly Developed Neural Networks

Oregon researchers who used functional brain imaging in live, older rhesus macaque monkeys show that animals whose diet was rich in omega-3 fatty acids had highly connected and well-organized neural networks compared to those whose diet lacked omega-3s. The imaging data show how similar the brain networks in monkeys and humans are, but “only in the context of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids”. The next step is to see if monkeys with deficits in certain neural networks have behavioral patterns similar to those in humans with neurological conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism.