SCIENCE

BREAKFAST AND BRAINS

Introduced by John Barrett, Dept, of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, on 26 February 1999

`Breakfast' stands for food and drink in general - breakfast just happens to be particularly influential - while `Brains' stands for efficient mental performance, intellectual competence and what used to be called IQ.

The general conclusion was that healthy eating contributes to a healthy brain in much the same way as to normal physical fitness.

The effects of diet on the developing brain of an unborn child were discussed. Current research suggests that the mother's diet can affect its development. This would have significant implications in severe circumstances, such as famine, drought, etc.

The final conclusion was that cognitive development is a highly complex process involving several thousand variables. The body's system has developed in such a way as to be able to adapt to changes in diet, and although diet can effect cognitive processes, the effect is reversible and negative effects can be `washed out' with appropriate treatment.

Bernard Kelly