Impact of Nutrition on Child Development

Nutrition and Brain Development

• Improving nutrition in New York City schools led to increased average achievement test scores, with the greatest improvements seen in children who were previously performing poorly.
• Children who experience poor prenatal and postnatal nutrition may not achieve their full potential in terms of behavioral functioning.
• However, the impact of early diet can be altered by the presence or absence of other risk and protective factors.
• For example, children who experience poor nutrition due to extreme poverty or war are less likely to have cognitive impairments if their parents are well-educated.
• Reducing one risk factor, such as malnutrition, can have a positive impact on development and reduce the effects of other negative influences.

The Developing Brain

• Prenatal and early postnatal brain development is critical, with brain structures and neuron structures and functions forming during this period.
• The brain is a complex system that underlies behavior, and understanding its workings can help professionals understand how their clients think, feel, and learn.

Prenatal Nutrition and Brain Development

• Prenatal nutrition can have a lasting impact on brain development and functioning.
• Severe protein and calorie shortages during pregnancy can lead to kwashiorkor in children, characterized by stunted growth, a protruding belly, and extreme apathy.
• Even less severe nutritional deficits can have an impact on children's cognitive functioning.
• A study in New York City schools found that removing food additives and high-sugar foods from school meals led to improved cognitive functioning in children.

Epigenetic Changes and Brain Development

• Prenatal exposure to famine can lead to epigenetic changes at the cellular level, resulting in long-term consequences for brain development and functioning.
• Examples of these consequences include higher rates of obesity, increased risk of schizophrenia and mood disorders, and more high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and type II diabetes by age 50.
• A study of babies born to mothers who experienced famine during pregnancy found that they were more likely to experience these negative outcomes.

Maternal Care and Hippocampus Development

• Variations in mothers' care during the first postnatal week alter the development of a rat pup's hippocampus, which plays a central role in reactions to stress.
• Offspring of "high LG" mothers grow up to be more mellow, less reactive to stressful events, than offspring of "low LG" mothers.
• Cross-fostering studies show that mothers' care, not genetics, makes the difference in stress reactivity.

Epigenesis and Brain Development

• A mother rat's external stimulation of her pup causes changes in the regulatory DNA of the pup's hippocampus, leading to demethylation and increased sensitivity to stress hormones.
• This results in a permanent change in the pup's brain and behavioral response to stress after the first week of life.
• This change is heritable, as mellow female rats (who experienced extra mothering as pups) grow up to be mothers who give their pups extra grooming and licking, making their pups also mellow.

Brain Structure and Function

• The hippocampus initiates the recovery from stress arousal by rapidly reducing the production of stress hormones.
• The hypothalamus functions as an intermediary, translating emotional messages from the cortex and amygdala into a command to the endocrine system to release stress hormones.
• The limbic system, including the hippocampus, amygdala, septum, and cingulate cortex, supports social and emotional functioning and works with the frontal lobes of the cortex to help us think and reason.
• The hindbrain structures of medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation regulate autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, which are outside conscious control.

Maternal Care and Hippocampus Development

• Variations in mothers' care during the first postnatal week alter the development of a rat pup's hippocampus, which plays a central role in reactions to stress.
• Offspring of "high LG" mothers grow up to be more mellow, less reactive to stressful events, than offspring of "low LG" mothers.
• Cross-fostering studies show that mothers' care, not genetics, makes the difference in stress reactivity.

Epigenesis and Brain Development

• A mother rat's external stimulation of her pup causes changes in the regulatory DNA of the pup's hippocampus, leading to demethylation and increased sensitivity to stress hormones.
• This results in a permanent change in the pup's brain and behavioral response to stress after the first week of life.
• This change is heritable, as mellow female rats (who experienced extra mothering as pups) grow up to be mothers who give their pups extra grooming and licking, making their pups also mellow.

Brain Structure and Function

• The hippocampus initiates the recovery from stress arousal by rapidly reducing the production of stress hormones.
• The hypothalamus functions as an intermediary, translating emotional messages from the cortex and amygdala into a command to the endocrine system to release stress hormones.
• The limbic system, including the hippocampus, amygdala, septum, and cingulate cortex, supports social and emotional functioning and works with the frontal lobes of the cortex to help us think and reason.
• The hindbrain structures of medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation regulate autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, which are outside conscious control.

Maternal Care and Hippocampus Development

• Variations in mothers' care during the first postnatal week alter the development of a rat pup's hippocampus, which plays a central role in reactions to stress.
• Offspring of "high LG" mothers grow up to be more mellow, less reactive to stressful events, than offspring of "low LG" mothers.
• Cross-fostering studies show that mothers' care, not genetics, makes the difference in stress reactivity.

Epigenesis and Brain Development

• A mother rat's external stimulation of her pup causes changes in the regulatory DNA of the pup's hippocampus, leading to demethylation and increased sensitivity to stress hormones.
• This results in a permanent change in the pup's brain and behavioral response to stress after the first week of life.
• This change is heritable, as mellow female rats (who experienced extra mothering as pups) grow up to be mothers who give their pups extra grooming and licking, making their pups also mellow.

Brain Structure and Function

• The hippocampus initiates the recovery from stress arousal by rapidly reducing the production of stress hormones.
• The hypothalamus functions as an intermediary, translating emotional messages from the cortex and amygdala into a command to the endocrine system to release stress hormones.
• The limbic system, including the hippocampus, amygdala, septum, and cingulate cortex, supports social and emotional functioning and works with the frontal lobes of the cortex to help us think and reason.
• The hindbrain structures of medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation regulate autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, which are outside conscious control.

Maternal Care and Hippocampus Development

• Variations in mothers' care during the first postnatal week alter the development of a rat pup's hippocampus, which plays a central role in reactions to stress.
• Offspring of "high LG" mothers grow up to be more mellow, less reactive to stressful events, than offspring of "low LG" mothers.
• Cross-fostering studies show that mothers' care, not genetics, makes the difference in stress reactivity.

Epigenesis and Brain Development

• A mother rat's external stimulation of her pup causes changes in the regulatory DNA of the pup's hippocampus, leading to demethylation and increased sensitivity to stress hormones.
• This results in a permanent change in the pup's brain and behavioral response to stress after the first week of life.
• This change is heritable, as mellow female rats (who experienced extra mothering as pups) grow up to be mothers who give their pups extra grooming and licking, making their pups also mellow.

Brain Structure and Function

• The hippocampus initiates the recovery from stress arousal by rapidly reducing the production of stress hormones.
• The hypothalamus functions as an intermediary, translating emotional messages from the cortex and amygdala into a command to the endocrine system to release stress hormones.
• The limbic system, including the hippocampus, amygdala, septum, and cingulate cortex, supports social and emotional functioning and works with the frontal lobes of the cortex to help us think and reason.
• The hindbrain structures of medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation regulate autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, which are outside conscious control.

Maternal Care and Hippocampus Development

• Variations in mothers' care during the first postnatal week alter the development of a rat pup's hippocampus, which plays a central role in reactions to stress.
• Offspring of "high LG" mothers grow up to be more mellow, less reactive to stressful events, than offspring of "low LG" mothers.
• Cross-fostering studies show that mothers' care, not genetics, makes the difference in stress reactivity.

Epigenesis and Brain Development

• A mother rat's external stimulation of her pup causes changes in the regulatory DNA of the pup's hippocampus, leading to demethylation and increased sensitivity to stress hormones.
• This results in a permanent change in the pup's brain and behavioral response to stress after the first week of life.
• This change is heritable, as mellow female rats (who experienced extra mothering as pups) grow up to be mothers who give their pups extra grooming and licking, making their pups also mellow.

Brain Structure and Function

• The hippocampus initiates the recovery from stress arousal by rapidly reducing the production of stress hormones.
• The hypothalamus functions as an intermediary, translating emotional messages from the cortex and amygdala into a command to the endocrine system to release stress hormones.
• The limbic system, including the hippocampus, amygdala, septum, and cingulate cortex, supports social and emotional functioning and works with the frontal lobes of the cortex to help us think and reason.
• The hindbrain structures of medulla, pons, cerebellum, and reticular formation regulate autonomic functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, which are outside conscious control.