Nutrition and neurodevelopment: mechanisms of developmental dysfunction and disease in later life

Nutrition plays a central role in linking the fields of developmental neuro biology and cognitive neuroscience. It has a profound impact on the develop ment of brain structure and function and malnutrition can result in develop mental dysfunction and disease in later life. A number of diseases, includi ng schizophrenia, may be related to neurodevelopmental insults such as maln utrition, hypoxia, viruses or in utero drug exposure. Some of the most sign ificant findings on nutrition and neurodevelopment during the last three de cades, and especially during the last few years, are discussed in this revi ew. Attention is focused on the underlying cellular and molecular mechanism s by which diet exerts its effects. Randomized intervention studies have re vealed important effects of early nutrition on later cognitive development, and recent epidemiological findings show that both genetics and environmen t are risk factors for schizophrenia. Particularly important is the effect of early nutrition on developmentof the hippocampus, a brain structure impo rtant in establishing learning and memory, and hence for cognitive performa nce. A major aim of future research should be to elucidate the molecular me chanisms underlying nutritionally-induced impairment of neurodevelopment an d specifically to determine the mechanisms by which early nutritional exper ience affects later cognitive performance. Key research objectives should i nclude: (1) increased understanding of mechanisms underlying the normal pro cesses of ageing and neurodegenerative disorders; (2) assessment of the rol e of susceptibility genes in modulating the effects of early nutrition on n eurodevelopment; and (3) development of nutritional and pharmaceutical stra tegies for preventing and/or ameliorating the adverse effects of early maln utrition on long-term programming.