Brain Development
Nutrition and Learning in Early Childhood: The Cognitive Implications-Dr NGOZI Ulonnam
Nutrition is especially important during pregnancy and infancy, which are crucial periods for the formation of the brain and lay the foundation for the development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills throughout childhood and adulthood.
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/nutrition-and-learning-early-childhood-cognitive-implications
Sphingomyelin and its role in Cognition, Pr IkeOluwa Lagunju
The first 3 years of life represent a rapid and dynamic period of brain maturation
Most brain processes during the period are primarily focused on connecting the brain by myelination and formation of new brain connections
Early life nutrition is an important and modifiable factor that can shape myelination and subsequently cognitive outcomes
Sphingomyelin plays an important role in cognitive development via its structural and functional involvement in CNS myelination. Infancy and early childhood are critical windows for brain growth and cognitive development.
Malnutrition in the prenatal & postnatal periods may decrease myelin-specific lipids in the brain with major consequences on brain structure and function.
Human milk is the preferred source of nutrition for infants and naturally contains sphingomyelin!
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/sphingomyelin-and-its-role-cognition-pr-ikeoluwa-lagunju
Role of sphingomyelin in Cognition
Cognition refers to a range of mental processes relating to the acquisition, storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information.
These cognitive processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving.
Healthy human brain development represents the foundation of our civilization because the brain is the organ from which all our cognition and emotion originate.
Therefore, there is perhaps nothing more important for a society than to foster and protect the development of the brain of our children.
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/role-sphingomyelin-cognition
Human Milk Oligosaccharides and brain development: New Perspectives
Adequate nutrition is necessary for normal brain development. Nutrition is especially important during pregnancy and infancy, which are crucial periods for the formation of the brain, and lays the foundation for the development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills throughout childhood and adulthood.
Human milk oligosaccharides are the 3rd largest component of breast milk and are significant for the development of the gut-brain-immune axis.
HMOs –have prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti –adhesive, immune-modulation and serve as nutrients for the brain for brain development, neuronal transmission, and synaptogenesis.
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/human-milk-oligosaccharides-and-brain-development-new-perspectives
Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) and Brain Development
The brain weighs 350-400 grams and contains 100 billion neurons at birth.
After birth, billions of neurons get connected by synaptogenesis: 700,000 synapses/second are formed. 90% brain development by age 5 years and 90% of brain volume by 6 years.
Rapid growth and development in infants and children need adequate amounts of nutrients.
The first years of life are a rapid & dynamic period for brain maturation. Most brain processes during that period are focused on connecting the brain, e.g., myelination
Many factors, including nutrition, influence brain growth and myelination. HMOs are prebiotics, and they promote growth of intestinal microbiota
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/human-milk-oligosaccharides-hmos-and-brain-development
How do you identify the signs of executive functions in infants?
The early building blocks of executive functions (EFs) —higher-order cognitive processes underlying goal-directed behavior—are acquired during infancy and undergo remarkable improvement throughout this period. Professor Cuevas will discuss the emergence and development of EFs during infancy, with a focus on core processes of working memory and inhibitory control. In the span of a few short years, infants become capable of sustaining, shifting, and inhibiting their attention, and eventually use these gains in attentional control to hold and update information in mind and exert control over their behavior in the presence of interfering thoughts and actions. These rudimentary EF skills in infancy likely represent developmental precursors to more complex EFs. Professor Cuevas will review commonly used measures of infant EF, briefly highlighting biopsychosocial mechanisms that impact EF development and individual variation.
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https://africa.wyethnutritionsc.org/brain-development/how-do-you-identify-signs-executive-functions-infants