Influence of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) on cognitive and visual development

authored by: J. P. Schuchardt, A. Hahn
Abstract: Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA), play a central role in infancy for normal brain development. They are involved in numerous neuronal processes, ranging from effects on membrane fluidity, signal transduction, neurotransmission to gene expression regulation. Since observational studies have indicated that the visual and cognitive performance of breastfed infants is advantaged compared to formula-fed infants, numerous randomized controlled studies have studied whether infant formulas supplemented with DHA or both DHA and AA would enhance visual and cognitive development of both term and preterm infants. This chapter gives an overview on the significance of LC-PUFAs in neurodevelopment, with a special focus on the findings from these studies.
Organisation(s): Institute of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Nutrition Physiology and Human Nutrition Section
Type: Contribution to book/anthology
Pages: 32-78
No. of pages: 47
Publication date: 07.2011
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Medicine
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857092922.1.32 (Access: Unknown)