Building Better Brains
Carolina scientists are finding that babies’ cognitive capabilities begin developing well before birth.
Carolina scientists are finding that babies’ cognitive capabilities begin developing well before birth.
It’s well documented that the health and dietary choices of an expectant mother are interconnected with the health of her child, beginning at conception and continuing throughout the child’s life.
But at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, scientists are discovering that babies get the best cognitive start when their moms eat essential nutrients before and during their pregnancy and that each woman is unique in how much of these nutrients she needs.
Natalia Surzenko, Ph.D., and Dr. Steven Zeisel, the institute’s director, examine why choline is critical for a baby’s brain development. They have found that a maternal diet low in choline during critical stages of embryonic brain development results in offspring with decreased brain size and fewer neurons.
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