INDULGING in a fatty meal after studying for an exam could boost your results. A study in rats shows that eating a certain type of fat produces a hormone that helps the brain cement short-term memories into long-term ones.
and colleagues at the University of California at Irvine trained rats to complete two tasks: avoid an area that gave them a shock, and find a platform in a pool of water. Immediately after the training periods, they injected some of the rats with oleoylethanolamide (OEA) 鈥� a chemical produced in the small intestine of vertebrates which creates a sense of fullness after eating fat. When the rats were retested one or two days later, the ones that received OEA performed better, suggesting they had stronger memories of their training (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ).
More experiments with the rats showed that OEA activates the same areas of the brain that mediate the formation of emotionally charged memories in humans, which are more vivid than typical memories.
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The findings make sense from an evolutionary perspective, says Piomelli. When foraging animals find a fatty meal, they do well to remember exactly where and how they found it. Since humans also produce OEA, Piomelli says there is a good chance that it boosts our memory too.
OEA is only produced after eating a healthy unsaturated fat called oleic acid, so a cheeseburger after a night of cramming may not work 鈥� try food with olive oil or soybean oil, says Piomelli.
