Posted: May 08, 2011 4:34 am
Mr.Samsa wrote:I wonder why they didn't discuss the effects of the mother having a poor diet during pregnancy, as that can severely affect memory and learning, and it would surely be an issue when looking at families from low socioeconomic backgrounds. For example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17688181
Indeed. Intrauterine environment plays a key role in the neurodevelopment process. In fact, the structure of the brain remains pretty plastic up to quite an advanced age (the upper limit is going up each day, as we have seen). And high stress levels are usually unfavorable for the proper development. So, I think, instead of viewing this study as an isolated one, we'd probably be better off if we take is as another evidence of the counter-productive effects of stress (from socio-economic causes) during the development of the nervous system (pre/post-natal).
Whilst I don't deny that an environment without any kind of enrichment will produce learning and memory deficits, it would have been interesting to see how much is caused by what, or even whether malnutrition during pregnancy is even an issue here. Interestingly, the effects found in the article I linked to can be reversed through environmental enrichment and exercise, if given early enough...
Yep. It'd be better if we could trace the exact mechanism and hence, the extent of the damage. If I'm allowed to throw a guess, I'd say that the effects are manifold, including reversible (inhibition of growth factors etc.) and irreversible (epigenetic, malformation of synapses, improper activities of the growth cones etc.) components.