Diet and Cognitive Development Flashcards
What does dietary intake provide?
- resources for the maintenance of central nervous system (CNS) activity (e.g. Energy) e.g. glucose and oxygen
- precursors for the synthesis of neurotransmitters, e.g. tryptophan precursor of serotonin
- vitamins & minerals that serve as essential co-factors in enzyme activity during synthesis
- dietary fats that can affect properties of the nerve cell membranes
Smaller and thinner babies are more what compared to other children at 5 years?
Larger and fatter
What is the barker hypothesis?
low growth rates in utero and during infancy were associated with high death rates from cardiovascular disease in adulthood
Sub-optimal nutrition during intrauterine life can cause what?
- birth weight 150 grams below average (most deprived)
- Rapid catch-up- increased levels of overweight and obesity at age 3 yr; and increased fat mass
What are epigenetics?
Something that changes genetic code
What can malnutrition during pregnancy lead to?
- abnormal epigenetic status on metabolic gene – maladaptation – non-communicable disease (obesity, diabetes) = transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
(We are the product of no only mum but also grandmother – what she ate during pregnancy)
If pregnant women were in their 1st or 2nd trimester during the dutch famine study what happened?
- Likely to be 8kg heavier later in life
- obesity
- Heart disease
- CNS abnormalities
- Schizophrenia
- Addictions
- Antisocial personality disorder
If pregnant women were in the 3rd trimester during the dutch famine study what happened?
- IGT (impaired glucose tolerance)
- T2DM (type 2 diabetes)
- affective illness
- Earlier menarche & - started periods younger
- Reproduction – social
- & psychological consequences
Is there an association between breast feeding and IQ?
Yes - about 5pt difference
What is sialic acid and why is it important?
- Sialic acid is an essential component of brain gangliosides
- Brain gangliosides, role in cell to cell interactions and synaptic connectivity
- Studies in piglets show that a diet rich in sialic acid increases brain levels & learning-related gene expression
- And has positive effect on learning & memory
What is the structural and functional role of PUFAs?
Neurotransmission and neurogenesis
Is there an association between DHA and IQ?
-5pt difference between breast and bottle fed infants (Anderson et al, 1999) – there are however other differences in mothers who do and do not breast feed in these studies –eg socio-economic, educational differences, less likely to return to work early – may be around more to offer environmental stimulation to the infant.
• DHA involved in the function of which neurotransmitters?
o Glutamate
o Acetylcholine
o Dopamine
o Serotonin
What are the main beneficial effects of DHA supplementation on infants?
Visual acuity and visual attention (also other cog tests)
What are some limitations of the Dolab study?
- Told newspaper what they were going to find before they found it = not what usually happens
- Makes some big leaps from mechanistic work to children (know there are effects on brain function – but not strong evidence for this effecting children’s cognition
- fishing = doesn’t find effect on 359 so looks at data and when looking at worst 20% finds an effect on reading
