Symposium on Nutrition & Cognition

Background

Can what we eat affect the development of our brain and our cognitive functions? Cognitive functions refer to the complex processes by which we perceive, evaluate, store and use information from external sources (our environment) and internal sources (our experience, memory, thoughts, etc), and how we respond to this information. Advances in research have increasingly shown that nutrition may play a crucial role not only in the physiological development of our brain even before birth, but also the development of our cognitive functions, mental performance and behavior throughout life. Increased longevity in many societies leading to larger elderly populations has also spurred research on nutrition for maintenance of cognitive performance and prevention of cognitive degeneration.

Vitamins and minerals serve as precursors in the formation of neurotransmitters and the composition of nerve cells. Food also provides the needed energy for proper brain metabolism and function. The potential for nutrition intervention to influence cognitive development from prenatal conception to cognitive performance at the later life stages is of great interest to researchers, food and beverage producers as well as consumers. In this respect, there is the need to establish evidence-based benefits of nutrients and food components for optimizing cognitive functions that can be substantiated through appropriate assessments tools. However, despite the wide availability of methodologies and tools, many gaps and challenges remain in detecting and validating nutritional influences on cognitive functions.