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The Effects of Dietary Components on Brain Function

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Advances in Human Clinical Nutrition

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Abstract

During the last decade effects of nutrition on the brain have been discovered that had previously been unsuspected. The administration of dietary components can predictably cause profound changes in the function of neurons, resulting in alterations in the brain output we call behavior. This is a novel idea, as in the past clinicians believed that meal composition did not have an effect on brain function. The brain was thought of as a protected organ, receiving preferential treatment with regard to nutrient supply. In this chapter I shall present evidence that this isolation of the brain is not the case, with respect to three neurotransmitters and their dietary precursors. Animal studies will be presented, establishing the foundation on which clinicians base new therapies for neurologic diseases.

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Authors
  1. Steven H. Zeisel MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Joseph J. Vitale ScD, MD (Director of Nutrition Education Programs, Professor of Pathology Associate Dean for International Health) & Selwyn A. Broitman PhD (Professor of Microbiology and Nutrirional Sciences) (Director of Nutrition Education Programs, Professor of Pathology Associate Dean for International Health) &  (Professor of Microbiology and Nutrirional Sciences)

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© 1982 John Wright · PSG Inc

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Zeisel, S.H. (1982). The Effects of Dietary Components on Brain Function. In: Vitale, J.J., Broitman, S.A. (eds) Advances in Human Clinical Nutrition. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8290-1_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8290-1_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-009-8292-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-8290-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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