Nutrition and neurodevelopment: mechanisms of developmental dysfunction and disease in later life

This 1999 review discusses some of the most significant findings on nutrition and neurodevelopment in the last three decades, and particularly in the last few years. While randomized intervention studies have indicated how crucial early nutrition is on cognitive development later in life, recent epidemiological findings revealed that both genetics and environment are risk factors for schizophrenia. Early nutrition is particularly important for hippocampal development (hippocampus is a brain structure vital in learning, memory, and cognitive performance). Future research should focus on enhancing our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying the damaged neurodevelopment induced by poor nutrition. The aim should be to determine the mechanism in which early nutritional experience influences future cognitive performance. Moreover, additional studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the regular process of aging and neurodegenerative disorders. It would also be worthwhile investigating the role of susceptibility genes in modulating the impacts of early nutrition on neurodevelopment. And finally, another key objective would be to develop novel strategies to prevent or ameliorate the adverse effects of early malnutrition on long-term programming. [NPID: cognition, neurodevelopment, schizophrenia, hippocampus, learning, memory, aging]

Year: 1999

Reference: Dauncey, M. J., & Bicknell, R. J. (1999). Nutrition and neurodevelopment: mechanisms of developmental dysfunction and disease in later life. Nutrition research reviews, 12(2), 231–253. https://doi.org/10.1079/095442299108728947