Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function.
It has long been suspected that the relative abundance of specific nutrients can affect cognitive processes and emotions. Newly described influences of dietary factors on neuronal function and synaptic plasticity have revealed some of the vital mechanisms that are responsible for the action of diet on brain health and mental function. Several gut hormones that can enter the brain, or that are produced in the brain itself, influence cognitive ability. In addition, well-established regulators of synaptic plasticity, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, can function as metabolic modulators, responding to peripheral signals such as food intake. Understanding the molecular basis of the effects of food on cognition will help us to determine how best to manipulate diet in order to increase the resistance of neurons to insults and promote mental fitness.
Department of Neurosurgery, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles 90095, California, USA. fgomezpi@mednet.ucla.edu
Fernando
F
Gómez-Pinilla
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005502:Food; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor