Project Number: 6251-51000-004-02
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2007
End Date: Jul 31, 2012

Objective:
The overall goal of these studies is to 1) determine how diet and nutritional status affect central nervous system development and function as measured by non-invasive tools (i.e., psychological testing, multi-channel recording of evoked potentials and fMRI) that can assess brain function and the extent to which dietary factors influence development of such important functions as: language acquisition, learning abilities, cognition, attention and other behaviors. 2) determine perceived barriers and facilitators to adhering to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) food choice and physical activity recommendations.

Approach:
Children (infants, toddlers and school-aged youths) will be studied using a variety of well-established and safe assessment tools to determine various central nervous system (CNS) functions. Several psychological and psychoneurophysiological tests have been developed specifically for infants (starting at day one of age) and children. These will be used to study the effects of diet and nutritional status on brain development and function. The short-term and long-term effects of breast feeding and/or formula on growth, body composition, development, and nutritional status will be studied. Nutritional status assessments, anthropometric measurements, urine and blood analysis, and measures of psychological, neuropsychological and cognitive measures will be obtained and analyzed. The effects of diet (i.e., breast milk, milk-based and soy-based formula, school breakfast, school lunch) on these measures will also be studied. Survey instruments will be validated for use with children and their caregivers to determine perceived barriers and facilitators to adhering to the Dietary Guidelines for American (DGA) food choice and physical activity recommendations.