Abstract
Green oat extracts have been used for centuries in traditional medicine in view of their supposed beneficial effects on cognition and mood. Recently, a specific green oat formulation (Neuravena®) showed to have significant bioactive compounds potentially associated with the enhancement of processing speed, working memory and attention. The main aim of the current study was to compare the potential effect of acute administration of 800 mg of Neuravena® with placebo on a set of neurophysiological correlates of processing speed, attention, performance-monitoring and inhibitory control. Twenty healthy participants were randomized to receive either Neuravena® or placebo. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal acquisition was obtained while participants carried out the modified Eriksen flanker and oddball tasks. Both groups were compared on measures of behavioral task performance, and a set of event-related potentials (ERPs) components related to performance monitoring (the error-related negativity; ERN and the N2), target detection, and attention (P3a/P3b). Following active-intervention N2, ERN, and P3a/P3b were significantly reduced and performance was faster, with no loss of accuracy. Conversely, no neurophysiological differences were found in the placebo group before and after treatment and performance worsened significantly in terms of reaction time and accuracy. Acute administration of 800 mg of Neuravena® appears to enhance the optimization of neural resources and positively influences cognitive performance in tasks associated with executive functions, processing speed and attention. Moreover, Neuravena® prevents the deleterious effects of tiredness during task performance.
Highlights
Various forms and preparations of oat (Avena sativa L.) – commonly known by names such as green oat and common oat - have been used for centuries to treat physical and psychological conditions (Blumenthal et al, 2000; Abascal and Yarnell, 2004)
Considering the previously reported findings from studies addressing the effects of Neuravena R, and taking into account the proposed mechanisms of action of this compound, we aimed to examine the relationship between indices of attention, performance-monitoring and inhibitory control abilities, such as the P3a, P3b, Error-related negativity (ERN), and N2 amplitudes and cognitive performance, as measured by neuropsychological tests in healthy individuals
The reason for choosing 800 mg in the current study relies on a previous study (Kennedy et al, 2017), where the results suggested that the optimal dose of Neuravena R in relation to improving cognitive performance lies at this level
Summary
Various forms and preparations of oat (Avena sativa L.) – commonly known by names such as green oat and common oat - have been used for centuries to treat physical and psychological conditions (Blumenthal et al, 2000; Abascal and Yarnell, 2004). Positive effects have been observed in measures of speed of performance (global), executive function, working and episodic memory, attention, and quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) (Berry et al, 2011; Dimpfel et al, 2011; Kennedy et al, 2017) In all these studies, a specific oat extract (Neuravena R ) was used. In bio-assay guided approaches, it has been shown to have a significant inhibitory effect on the monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) and phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE-4) enzymes (Moccetti et al, 2006) Based on this finding, it has been proposed that increased dopaminergic availability and cerebral vasodilation underlie its reported acute positive effects (Moccetti et al, 2006; Kennedy et al, 2017). Chronic intake of the extract has shown to improve vasodilator function in peripheral and cerebral arteries (Wong et al, 2013), suggesting a broad effect on brain function
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