Nutritional programming
It’s well established that the perinatal nutritional environment has a permanent impact on a variety of physiological systems in the fetus and offspring, affecting the brain and behaviour, long term. In fact, both undernutrition and overnutrition during this period can programme an obese phenotype which lasts into adulthood.
Animals have been found to experience similar changes. The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. These processes are understood to be heritable epigenetic modifications of gene expression patterns.
While we have demonstrated that postnatal overfeeding programmes behaviour in adult age, little is currently known about the behavioural effects of a Western style diet during this period.
In the context of the obesity epidemic, evidence is emerging that obesity contributes to the cognitive decline associated with dementia. For this reason, modelling the programming effects of hyperenergetic (i.e. hypercaloric Western-style) diets on brain and behaviour is of increasing importance in understanding underlying mechanisms and cognitive development over the human lifespan. Our current projects focus on the impact of early diet on neurodevelopmental disorders.
Spotlight project
The effect of diet on postnatal development
We are currently interested in the role of diet during early postnatal development of the central nervous system. Using the rat as a model species, we’re investigating the early development of emotional and cognitive behaviour, up until puberty.
The hypothesis is that exposure of the lactating dam to a hyperenergetic can interfere with normal development of brain neurotransmitter and energy metabolism. As a result, the individual could be predisposed to future behavioural and cognitive disturbances (e.g. impaired learning and memory).
There is an increasing awareness of developmental factors in neuropsychiatric disorders, but the role of the dietary environment is still somewhat under-explored. With our research, we hope to substantiate the link between diet, early behavioural development and the impact on ageing.
Read our article on early postnatal environmental enrichment.
Read our article on the impact of maternal exposure to a cafeteria diet.