Compensatory growth impairs adult cognitive performance

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Developmental Biology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Poor early nutrition can lead to negative long-term health outcomes.
• It is unclear if these consequences stem from the nutritional deficit or compensatory growth.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether compensatory growth or early nutritional deficit impacts adult cognitive function.
• To understand factors shaping growth trajectories and optimize growth management.

Main Methods:

• Sibling zebra finches were reared on different nutrition qualities for the first 20 days.
• Adult learning performance (associating screen color with food reward) was assessed.
• The relationship between early diet, growth compensation, and learning speed was analyzed.

Main Results:

• Final body size was unaffected by early nutrition or growth compensation.
• Faster learning speed was negatively correlated with the extent of compensatory growth.
• Learning speed was not related to early diet quality or initial growth depression.

Conclusions:

• Compensatory growth following early nutritional stress is linked to impaired adult cognitive function.
• A trade-off between growth and performance may influence optimal growth trajectories.
• This has implications for managing growth in various species, including humans.