Impact of early childhood malnutrition on the adult brain function: an ERP study

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, 45% of deaths among children under five years of age are caused by malnutrition, which impacts more than 224 million children globally. The Barbados Nutrition Study (BNS) is a 50+ year longitudinal study on a Barbadian cohort with histories of moderate to severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) limited to the first year of life and a healthy comparison group. We have previously used quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) to highlight differences in brain function during childhood (lower alpha1 activity and higher theta, alpha2 and beta activity) between participants who suffered from early PEM and controls. In order to determine whether similar differences between the PEM and control groups persisted into adulthood, our current study used recordings obtained during a Go-No-Go task in a subsample of the original BNS cohort (N=53) at ages 45-51 years. We found that previously malnourished adults (n=24) had a higher rate of omission errors on the task relative to controls (n=29). Evoked-Related Potentials (ERP) were significantly different in participants with histories of early PEM, who presented with lower N2 amplitudes (p<0.05). These findings are typically associated with impaired conflict monitoring and/or attention deficits and may therefore be linked to the attentional and executive function deficits that have been previously reported in this cohort in childhood and again in middle-adulthood. HighlightsO_LIChildhood malnutrition increases risk of brain function alterations. C_LIO_LIThere is a need to investigate the evolution of those outcomes later in life. C_LIO_LIAdults who suffered childhood malnutrition undertook a Go-No-Go task during EEG. C_LIO_LITask performance and N2 amplitude were reduced in malnutrition group (vs control). C_LIO_LIFirst evidence of adult brain function alteration following childhood malnutrition. C_LI