Nutrients, Vol. 18, Pages 459: Oral Choline Reduced Working Memory-Related Brain Activation in Postmenopausal Women: A Pilot Study
Nutrients doi: 10.3390/nu18030459
Authors:
Julie A. Dumas
Abigail Testo
Anna Senft Miller
Angeles Ozahl
Callum Potts
Jiming Zhang
Marwa Aboukhatwa
James Boyd
Background/Objectives: Choline plays an important role in maintaining normal cellular function and overall physiology. Endogenous choline availability depends on the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine via the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway. Expression of PEMT is influenced by estrogen, as its promoter contains multiple estrogen-responsive elements that enhance enzyme activity. How a low estrogenic condition like menopause influences choline’s effect on the brain is not yet fully understood. Methods: In this pilot study, 20 women participated in two study days, with 1650 mg of oral choline bitartrate or a matching placebo administered three hours before a functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI scans were collected on each study day while subjects performed an N-back working memory task. Results: In this pilot study, no differences in working memory performance were observed, but decreased activation was found for the choline compared to the placebo during the 2-back compared to 0-back conditions in regions of the right temporal lobe (p < 0.001 voxel-level threshold, and p-FDR < 0.05 cluster-size threshold). When we seeded the right planum temporale to examine its functional connectivity with the rest of the brain, we found that choline modulated a large portion of the working memory network during the difficult memory load condition. Conclusions: These results in this pilot study illustrate the effect of choline on working memory-related brain activation and functional connectivity in postmenopausal women. We propose that choline may increase brain functional efficiency in low estrogenic conditions like menopause, but further studies are needed.
Background/Objectives: Choline plays an important role in maintaining normal cellular function and overall physiology. Endogenous choline availability depends on the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine via the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway. Expression of PEMT is influenced by estrogen, as its promoter contains multiple estrogen-responsive elements that enhance enzyme activity. How a low estrogenic condition like menopause influences choline’s effect on the brain is not yet fully understood. Methods: In this pilot study, 20 women participated in two study days, with 1650 mg of oral choline bitartrate or a matching placebo administered three hours before a functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI scans were collected on each study day while subjects performed an N-back working memory task. Results: In this pilot study, no differences in working memory performance were observed, but decreased activation was found for the choline compared to the placebo during the 2-back compared to 0-back conditions in regions of the right temporal lobe (p < 0.001 voxel-level threshold, and p-FDR < 0.05 cluster-size threshold). When we seeded the right planum temporale to examine its functional connectivity with the rest of the brain, we found that choline modulated a large portion of the working memory network during the difficult memory load condition. Conclusions: These results in this pilot study illustrate the effect of choline on working memory-related brain activation and functional connectivity in postmenopausal women. We propose that choline may increase brain functional efficiency in low estrogenic conditions like menopause, but further studies are needed. Read More