Particularly during the first year of life, starvation may result in reduced brain growth and intellectual functioning that cannot be fully restored.
Recently, NIEHS grantee Theodore A. Slotkin of Duke University Medical Center and his colleagues investigated how separate and combined exposures to terbutaline, a drug used to arrest preterm labor, and to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos affect several indices of brain cell growth and function.
During the study, now in its fourth year, children receive multiple in-depth checkups, including assessments of bone development and health, imaging of reproductive tissues, and assessments of brain development and function, metabolism, growth, development, and body composition.
The known positive effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor on interneuronal growth and function through activation of its receptor tropomyosin receptor kinase B, and its decrease after traumatic brain injury, led us to hypothesize that enhancing trophic support might improve parvalbumin interneuronal function and decrease epileptogenesis.
Furthermore, in view of the important roles of ubiquitin system in synaptic growth and function, downregulation of Nedd4 may also affect synaptic growth and plasticity, contributing to altered brain function.
The study focused particularly on whether environmental factors, including parental nurturance and the stress of poverty, affected the growth and functioning of the brain.
39 Exercise also increases blood supply in the brain, thus facilitating nerve growth and nerve function.
Omega fatty acids are important in brain function, growth, and development.
