Examining the Role of Folic Acid Relative to Anxiety and Cognition in Mice

Roughly one-third of the population suffers from anxiety or neurocognitive disorders (Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s) in their lifetime. However, whether folic acid deficiency causes anxiety or cognitive dysfunction remains relatively unexamined. The present study aims to explore the effects of folic acid deficiency and folic acid supplementation on cognitive function, memory, and anxiety-related behavior in mice. Sixteen-week-old C57BL/6J mice were fed a folic acid supplemented diet, a folic acid deficient diet, a high protein diet, a low protein diet, or a folate protein control diet for 8 weeks. A random representative sample of mice (N=38; 6-8 mice per dietary treatment) were tested. Three common methods utilized to examine states of anxiety and neurocognition are the following: 1) an Open Field Test to examine anxiety-related behavior and exploratory behavior; 2) a Novel Object Recognition test to assess memory and cognitive function; and, 3) Nestlet building, the ability to create a nest in 12 hours was conducted to assess hippocampal function. Consumption of a low protein diet did significantly decrease the ability to build a nest (p\u3c0.05), a result published with Down Syndrome mice. And, there was an emerging pattern with increased dietary protein intake that revealed more distance explored in the Open Field Test. Indeed, neurocognition was influenced at varying protein intake levels in our mice