Neuroimaging of the Developing Brain and Impact of Nutrition

Abstract

The first 1,000 days of life are increasingly viewed as laying the essential foundations for lifelong physical and mental health. Extending this age range to include childhood, that is up to 10 years of age, these early-life periods encompass the peak period of brain growth, coincide with the emergence of nearly all fundamental cognitive and behavioral skills and abilities, and overlap with the earliest onset and symptoms of a wide breadth of developmental, intellectual, and psychiatric disorders. It is increasingly recognized that altered brain development throughout this sensitive period can negatively affect cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The development of safe and noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging, has provided important new insights into patterns of early structural and functional neurodevelopment, the relationships between brain growth and emerging brain function, and the influence of environmental, genetic, and nutritional factors on shaping these brain-function relationships. In particular, nutrition is a critical and readily modifiable influence that can profoundly impact early brain maturation. Here, we overview the current understanding of early-life nutrition and its effects on the developing brain as detailed through neuroimaging.