Lin Weili, Baluyot Kristine R, Yao Manjiang, Yan Jian, Wang Li, Li Gang, Howell Brittany, Elison Jed T, Shen Dinggang
Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2019;90:121-135. doi: 10.1159/000490300. Epub 2019 Mar 13.
Brain development in the first years of life is the most dynamic and perhaps the most important phase of brain maturation. While it is widely recognized that nutrition plays a key role in early brain development, particular nutrients will most likely differentially affect distinct aspects of brain development. The critical dosage windows and time frames for various nutrients at different stages of brain development are likely dissimilar. Therefore, efforts have been devoted to identifying potential associations between nutrients and early brain development. However, behavioral assessments are typically employed as the outcome measures, which are known to suffer from low sensitivity and the inability to provide neural substrates underlying brain functional maturation. In contrast, magnetic resonance imaging is capable of providing detailed anatomical and functional information - an ideal tool to characterize brain functional development and nutrition. Our team has developed strategies that enable imaging of typically developing children from birth to teens without sedation. Quantitative assessments of brain structural and functional development during the first years of life have been accomplished, which reveal important features of early brain development. These developed tools will most likely substantially enhance our ability to rigorously characterize the interplay between nutrients and early brain development.
生命最初几年的大脑发育是大脑成熟过程中最具活力且可能最重要的阶段。虽然人们普遍认识到营养在早期大脑发育中起着关键作用，但特定营养素很可能对大脑发育的不同方面产生不同影响。大脑发育不同阶段各种营养素的关键剂量窗口和时间框架可能不同。因此，人们致力于确定营养素与早期大脑发育之间的潜在关联。然而，行为评估通常被用作结果指标，众所周知，这些评估存在敏感性低以及无法提供大脑功能成熟潜在神经基础的问题。相比之下，磁共振成像能够提供详细的解剖和功能信息——这是描绘大脑功能发育和营养状况的理想工具。我们的团队已经开发出了无需镇静就能对从出生到青少年的正常发育儿童进行成像的策略。我们已经完成了对生命最初几年大脑结构和功能发育的定量评估，这些评估揭示了早期大脑发育的重要特征。这些已开发的工具很可能会极大地提高我们严格描述营养素与早期大脑发育之间相互作用的能力。
