Nutrition Flashcards
o What did the animal experiments on prenatal diet show?
♣ Animals given 2 different diets. Protein group had fewer infections, still borns…
o Why should we care about these animal experiments?
♣ Allowed us to come up with a framework for how to study nutrition. Not perfectly replicable in humans. Allowed us to understand the basics of how things like protein can affect babies, pregnancy.
♣ A lot of things we now know about early nutrition comes from experiments on animals.
o What do we learn from the dutch famine?
♣ Pre-existing conditions. Reported pregnancy outcomes when they were malnourished. If towards the start of pregnancy vs toward the end. In 3rd trimester if undernourished could lead to smaller birth weights and other issues. When embargo was lifted and babies could eat more, as they grew up they had heart problems bc they didn’t learn how to absorb sugar.
♣ Learned about different stages of pregnancy
♣ A lot of what we know about prenatal diet comes from dutch famine study
o Why are iron and folic acid important for babies?
♣ Prevents anemia and lower birth rate. Lack of folic acid can cause spinal issues. Folic acid allows babies to hold neck up after birth.
What is pre-pregnancy?
♣ 5-7 months Right before pregnancy, taking supplements can help baby after birth. Miscarriages can be caused by things in pre-pregnancy. If underweight in prepregnancy, more likely to miscarry. 1 in 3 pregnancies miscarry.
Is brain function equal to cognitive function?
♣ It depends. They are not equal. Close but not equal. Might lose some brain neurons but you can still cognitively function because other brain areas will aid in functioning.
Experience-expectant process in brain development
Experience-Expectant Plasticity describes the normal, generalized development of neuron connections that occur as a result of common experiences that all humans are exposed to in a normal environment. These early universal experiences are visual stimulation, sound (specifically voices), and bodily movement.
The brain has been developed through evolution to ‘expect’ these early stimulating experiences and uses them to activate particular synapses that are involved in senses like vision and hearing. If everything is normal then the brain will develop in an expected fashion. But if something has happened that inhibits the perception of these experiences then development can be stunted or halted altogether.
An example of this is when vision is obstructed in an infant and they are unable to perceive the expected visual information the brain needs to form the synapses necessary to the proper functioning of the visual system. Although the infant started out with the required synapses to be able to see they were pruned away because the brain failed to perceive the visual stimulation.
Babies recognizing faces
♣ Babies can tell the difference between lemur faces. Under 6 months are better than over 9 months. 9 months could NOT see the difference between the faces.
♣ Babies have 1.5 times as many synapses as adults. Babies mostly grow up looking at human faces, so as they grow they lose the connections to recognize the different in primate faces.
o Based on the article, what type of nutritional diet would you recommend to a pregnant woman?
♣ Well-balanced diet. Fruits, vegetables. Don’t overeat, eat just enough for you and your baby. Make sure you get iron and folic acid. Higher protein with high energy intake.
What is an experience-dependent process in brain development?
Experience-Dependent Plasticity is the continuing process of the creation and organization of neuron connections that occurs as a result of a person’s life experiences. Differing life situations and circumstance influence how certain areas of the brain develop and continue to grow. Research has shown that animals raised in a complex and engaging environment have more dendrite development and more overall synapses than do animals who are raised in an environment with no stimulating or engaging features.
In order to determine whether nutrient deficiencies cause permanent cognitive deficits in humans, researchers should take the following parameters into account:
- Child’s interaction with the environment
- The &ming and degree of nutrient deficiency
- The possibility of recovery
Childrens interaction with the environment
• low-birth babies in hgh ses vs low ses
o math and Spanish learning test scores
♣ high ses got better scores
♣ high ses perform similarly to high ses with regular birth babies.
• Early nutrition support intervention, later test them with raven’s test to measure IQ. In low ses conditions. 6-8 year olds with preschool vs. no preschool experience.
o Preschool children did better. Nutrition support only worked for children who went to preschool, not children who didn’t go.
timing and degree of nutrient deficiency
• myelination of brainstem auditory pathway: 26 week of pregnancy until 12 months after birth. DHA is required for myelination.
o supplementation with DHA -> better auditory skills.
• Children’s own biological make up is important. 6 month babies with low hemoglobin vs high hemoglobin concentration. Diet with iron fortified vs low iron formula.
o Tested at 10 yrs old. interaction
♣ LH children do better with iron fortified
♣ HH children do better with low-iron
Children’s own biological make-up is important!
• Side note: also true for teratogens (substances that have negative impact if taken during pregnancy or prepregnancy. Alcohol, tobacco, air pollution).
the possibility of recovery
• Not undernourished and adopted before age 2 vs undernourished and adopted before age 2. Tested IQ scores during preschool. There is NO DIFFERENCE between these 2 groups. 3rd group is adopted after age 3, both undernourished and not undernourished. They were affected. Possibility of recovery but timing is important.
Nature and nurture
Nature and nurture is not a one-to one connection
