Protein malnutrition and brain development

CHERTOFF MARIELA

Brain Didorders and Therapy

OMICS Group

Año: 2015

2168-975X

Malnutrition is one of the major factors affecting brain development. In particular, protein malnutrition can result in abnormal development and behavioral consequences. Protein malnutrition reduce brain size, dendritic arborization and cell maturation. In addition, perinatal low protein diet produces changes on neurotransmitters and oxidative status. As a consequence, failure in normal development produces social and behavioral disabilities that persist during the adult life. The duration and time of onset of dietary restriction is important to comprehend the detrimental effects of low protein diet in brain function. Although during last decades a lot of effort has been done to understand the long lasting effects of perinatal malnutrition,  several question are still unsolved. The present review is focused on neuroanatomical,  neurochemical and functional  changes observed in rodent models of perinatal malnutrition  as well as the future directions.