The Affects of Nutrition on Cognitive Behavior Development

The Effects of Nutrition on Cognitive Behavior Development

The brain is an extremely active organ which demands a high percentage of the overall daily energy requirements supplied by food. The body of evidence to support the positive effects of a healthy and varied diet is large and is an active area of research and development. Cognitive science surrounds several competing research traditions that differ from each other primarily in their views of the nature of mental representations and of the procedures by which such representations are manipulated.It is important at all ages to focus on consuming a well rounded diet with all the essential nutrients. The effects of poor diet on sleeping patterns, energy and mood all indirectly affect day to day functioning of the brain at work or school.

It's essential to study data from several objectives tests to see which vitamins provide the greatest benefits to cognitive behavior development. It is important to use children and young adults, as their minds are still growing, and they are much more receptive to changes in diet.Cognition is also indirectly affected by the development of other brain functions, for example nutrition is essential for the development of the sensory systems such as hearing and vision and the integration of these processes, the sensorimotor system.

Sensorimotor systems (from Birth to age of two) are the coordination between sensory functions and motor (movement) functions. An example of a sensorimotor function would be seeing a ball (sensory) and putting up hands to catch it (motor). These processes mature before cognition as they are essential components needed for learning and memory.Without a full and healthy development of these systems, optimal cognitive maturation is not achieved. 

For infants, 87% of their daily energy intake supplies the brain. In children between the ages of 6-12 years, 30 - 45% of their energy is utilised in the brain....