Dementia and cognitive decline have become worldwide public health problems. We have previously reported that a whey-derived glycine-threonine-tryptophan-tyrosine peptide, β-lactolin, improves hippocampus-dependent memory functions in mice. The supplementation with a whey digest rich in β-lactolin improves memory retrieval and executive function in a clinical trial, but the effect of β-lactolin on prefrontal cortex (PFC)-associated cognitive function was unclear. Here we examined the effect of β-lactolin and the whey digest on PFC-associated visual discrimination (VD) and reversal discrimination (RD) learning, using a rodent touch panel-based operant system. β-Lactolin and the whey digest significantly improved the RD learning, and the whey digest enhanced the response latency during the VD task, indicating that β-lactolin and the whey digest improve PFC-associated cognitive functions. Given the translational advantages of the touch panel operant system, consumption of β-lactolin in daily life could be beneficial for improving human PFC-associated cognitive function, helping to prevent dementia.

中文翻译：

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β-乳蛋白是一种乳清衍生的甘氨酸-苏氨酸-色氨酸-酪氨酸乳环肽，可改善小鼠前额叶皮层相关的逆向学习。

痴呆和认知能力下降已成为世界范围内的公共卫生问题。我们以前曾报道过，乳清衍生的甘氨酸-苏氨酸-色氨酸-酪氨酸肽，β-乳杆菌肽可改善小鼠海马依赖性记忆功能。在临床试验中，补充富含β-乳胶的乳清消化物可改善记忆恢复和执行功能，但尚不清楚β-乳胶对前额叶皮层（PFC）相关认知功能的作用。在这里，我们使用基于啮齿动物触摸屏的操作系统，研究了β-乳清蛋白和乳清消化物对PFC相关视觉识别（VD）和逆向识别（RD）学习的影响。β-乳清蛋白和乳清消化物显着改善了RD学习，并且乳清消化物增加了VD任务期间的响应潜伏期，提示β-催乳素和乳清消化物可改善PFC相关的认知功能。鉴于触摸屏操作系统的翻译优势，在日常生活中食用β-乳清蛋白可能有益于改善人类PFC相关的认知功能，有助于预防痴呆。