The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there are associations between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) blood levels, reading/writing performance and performance in neuropsychological tasks. Moderate to strong correlations were found between PUFA levels (specific omega-6/omega-3 ratios) and reading/writing abilities, and the former and neuropsychological test scores. Mediation models analyzing the direct and indirect effects of PUFA on reading and writing scores showed that the effects of fatty acids on learning measures appear to be direct rather than mediated by the investigated visual and auditory neuropsychological mechanisms. The only significant indirect effect was found for the difference in accuracy between the left and right visual fields in visual-spatial cueing tasks, acting as a mediator for the effect of PUFA ratios on writing accuracy. Regression analyses, by contrast, confirmed the roles of phonological awareness and other visual attentional factors as predictors of reading and writing skills. Such results confirm the crucial role of visual-spatial attention mechanisms in reading and writing, and suggest that visual low-level mechanisms may be more sensitive to the effects of favorable conditions related to the presence of higher omega-3 blood levels.

Direct and indirect effects of blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on reading and writing (dis)abilities / F. Borasio, M. Syren, S. Turolo, C. Agostoni, M. Molteni, A. Antonietti, M.L. Lorusso. - In: BRAIN SCIENCES. - ISSN 2076-3425. - 12:2(2022 Feb), pp. 169.1-169.19. [10.3390/brainsci12020169]

Direct and indirect effects of blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on reading and writing (dis)abilities

M. Syren
Secondo
;
C. Agostoni;
2022

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there are associations between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) blood levels, reading/writing performance and performance in neuropsychological tasks. Moderate to strong correlations were found between PUFA levels (specific omega-6/omega-3 ratios) and reading/writing abilities, and the former and neuropsychological test scores. Mediation models analyzing the direct and indirect effects of PUFA on reading and writing scores showed that the effects of fatty acids on learning measures appear to be direct rather than mediated by the investigated visual and auditory neuropsychological mechanisms. The only significant indirect effect was found for the difference in accuracy between the left and right visual fields in visual-spatial cueing tasks, acting as a mediator for the effect of PUFA ratios on writing accuracy. Regression analyses, by contrast, confirmed the roles of phonological awareness and other visual attentional factors as predictors of reading and writing skills. Such results confirm the crucial role of visual-spatial attention mechanisms in reading and writing, and suggest that visual low-level mechanisms may be more sensitive to the effects of favorable conditions related to the presence of higher omega-3 blood levels.
PUFA; dyslexia; reading; writing; visual processing; phonological processing; visual-spatial attention; cueing task; flanker effect
Settore MED/38 - Pediatria Generale e Specialistica
feb-2022
27-gen-2022
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1060108
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