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Review
. 2018 Aug;107(8):1310-1321.
doi: 10.1111/apa.14287. Epub 2018 Mar 22.

Nutritional influences on brain development

Michael K Georgieff  1 , Sara E Ramel  1 , Sarah E Cusick  1
Affiliations
Review

Nutritional influences on brain development

Michael K Georgieff et al. Acta Paediatr. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

There is increasing evidence from preclinical and human studies that nutrition in the late foetal and early neonatal period has a significant impact on neurodevelopment across the lifespan. Certain nutrients have particularly large effects in this time period, and their deficits cause greater long-term risk. The mechanisms by which nutrients influence early brain growth and the sensitive periods for when certain nutrients should be provided are being elucidated. Assessments of nutritional status that index brain growth and predict long-term development are important to assess the efficacy of early life nutritional therapies.

Conclusion: Optimizing nutrition during foetal and early postnatal life is a golden opportunity to impact neurodevelopment and brain function across the lifespan.

Keywords: Brain; Development; Foetus; Neonate; Nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no disclosures and no conflicts of interest to resolve.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Iron-dependent epigenetic modifications (A) that potentially modify genes that affect neuronal differentiation during development and adult neural plasticity (B) (23,24,31)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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