Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

When maternal periconceptional diet affects neurological development, it’s time to think

Sinclair, Kevin D.

When maternal periconceptional diet affects neurological development, it’s time to think Thumbnail


Authors

KEVIN SINCLAIR kevin.sinclair@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Developmental Biology



Abstract

There is increasing awareness that the nutritional status of women at the onset of pregnancy can have a profound effect on the general health and well-being of children. However, recent analyses indicate that the majority of women from different socioeconomic backgrounds are ill prepared for the nutritional rigors of pregnancy, and that outcomes of dietary interventions once pregnancy has commenced are usually disappointing (1). It follows that current thinking is moving toward more targeted dietary advice for intending parents with the aim of improving nutritional status by the time of conception. There is certainly compelling evidence from animal studies to identify this as perhaps the most critical stage of mammalian development: one that is acutely sensitive to subtle alterations in maternal diet with far-reaching consequences for the development of late-onset noncommunicable diseases (2, 3). However, to date, animal studies have focused, for the most part, on aspects of cardiometabolic health. In PNAS, Gould et al. (4) report that modest protein restriction (a low-protein diet) in mice limited to the period of preimplantation embryo development (termed Emb-LPD) initially leads to a reduction in the population of neural stem cells but then, upon dietary realignment, subsequently results in an enhancement of neuronal differentiation within higher regions of the fetal brain. Furthermore, they report that this apparently early adaptive response ultimately leads to deficits of short-term memory in young-adult offspring. These observations therefore greatly extend those of previous studies on brain function, which have generally explored the effects of dietary restriction throughout gestation and lactation (5), to highlight the importance of nutrition during the periconceptional period.

Citation

Sinclair, K. D. (2018). When maternal periconceptional diet affects neurological development, it’s time to think. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(31), 7852-7854. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809471115

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 22, 2018
Online Publication Date Jul 5, 2018
Publication Date Jul 31, 2018
Deposit Date Aug 18, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN 0027-8424
Electronic ISSN 1091-6490
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 115
Issue 31
Pages 7852-7854
DOI https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809471115
Keywords Multidisciplinary
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1038344
Publisher URL http://www.pnas.org/content/115/31/7852

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations