Project Grant<\/a> from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Krzeczkowski and his team aim to answer these questions.<\/p>\n\u201cWith this critical financial support from CIHR, the team is poised to revolutionize the way we understand risk factors for mental disorders in developing children,\u201d says Brock Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn. \u201cThis groundbreaking research is an essential step toward early interventions to help children and families.\u201d<\/p>\n
First, the study will use multiple research methods that account for the intense complexity of prenatal nutrition and metabolic health. Krzeczkowski says this will position the team to identify the factors that play the strongest role in child brain development.<\/p>\n
Second, to understand how these factors may impact the developing brain, the research team will test their new theoretical model, which states that prenatal nutrition and metabolic health increase child neurobehavioural flexibility.<\/p>\n
Neurobehavioural flexibility \u2014 the capacity to change behaviour when faced with various demands in one\u2019s environment \u2014 enables people to solve problems, deal with uncertainty and incorporate new information into plans and ideas.<\/p>\n
Its opposite, inflexibility, is the type of rigid thinking and behaviour found in conditions such as depression, autism, anxiety, ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s model outlines the impacts on three brain systems \u2014 observed through animal studies \u2014 that alter the balance between flexible and inflexible behaviour.<\/p>\n
The first is the brain\u2019s energy-balance system, which regulates the intake of calories, the amount burned off by physical activity and the amount of energy stored.<\/p>\n
Prenatal metabolic and dietary health may produce a better balance between appetite-stimulating and appetite-decreasing nervous system cells or neurons in offspring.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of these changes, offspring are likely better able to alter their eating behaviours when their energy intake needs are actually met, and their behaviour is less constrained by food cues,\u201d says Krzeczkowski.<\/p>\n
The second is the body\u2019s reward system.<\/p>\n
Changes to receptors \u2014 molecules that detect and transmit signals to bring about certain actions \u2014 in parts of the brain regulating pleasurable feelings are in better balance, thereby decreasing a constant desire for highly palatable foods and other rewards.<\/p>\n
The brain may be less \u201clocked in\u201d on consuming rewards, and therefore is better able to alter attention toward longer-term goals, says Krzeczkowski.<\/p>\n
Thirdly, prenatal nutrition and metabolic health may optimize multiple connections within the offspring\u2019s prefrontal cortex, increasing their ability to monitor and alter food intake and reward-seeking behaviours, he says.<\/p>\n
The team will study the development of these three brain systems at various points in a group of children starting at age nine months and ending at 36 months of age to see if and how the children\u2019s neurobehavioural flexibility is affected as a mental health risk factor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis research will enable us to work with pregnant people to develop the most effective prenatal interventions that support pregnancy health and optimize child neurodevelopment,\u201d says Krzeczkowski.<\/p>\n
Krzeczkowski\u2019s Brock University team members include Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Inclusion Karen Patte, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies and Canada Research Chair in Adjustment and Well-Being in Children and Youth Danielle Sirianni Molnar, Professor of Health Sciences Terrance Wade and Professor of Kinesiology and Health Sciences Wendy Ward.<\/p>\n
The federal government funding for the team\u2019s project was announced Jan. 30<\/a> by CIHR President Paul H\u00e9bert.<\/p>\n\u201cSupporting research that improves children\u2019s mental health is one of the most crucial investments we can make as a government and a country, as the children of today will shape the society of tomorrow,\u201d says Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre.<\/p>\n
Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, says \u201chealthy eating patterns are crucial for physical and mental vitality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Krzeczkowski\u2019s unique theoretical model will give us profound insights into how we can support the health of families worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n