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Event-related variations in alpha band activity during an attentional task in preadolescents: Effects of morning
1Brain Function Laboratory, Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, Little Rock, AR, USA. pivikterry@uams.edu
Insights
Skipping breakfast after overnight fasting impacts children's brain activity and behavior. Eating breakfast effectively counters these effects, highlighting nutrition's role in cognitive function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Nutritional Science
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Overnight fasting affects brain function and behavior.
- The impact of breakfast on cognitive performance in children is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of breakfast on brain activity and behavior in preadolescents after overnight fasting.
- To explore the relationship between nutrition, brain function, and cognition.
Main Methods:
- Event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) was used to measure brain activity.
- Healthy preadolescents performed a Go/No-Go RT task after fasting or eating breakfast.
- Sleep and blood glucose levels were monitored.
Main Results:
- Fasting led to slower reaction times and increased alpha synchronization.
- Eating breakfast normalized blood glucose and counteracted negative behavioral effects.
- Brain activity showed differences in event-related synchronization and desynchronization between groups.
Conclusions:
- Even short periods of fasting significantly alter brain activity and behavior in children.
- Breakfast consumption effectively mitigates the negative impacts of fasting on cognitive performance.
- Nutritional status is a critical factor influencing neurobehavioral outcomes in children.
Objective:
Event-related desynchronization and synchronization (ERD/ERS) methodology was used to study interactions between nutrition, brain function, cognition and behavior in children who ate or skipped breakfast after overnight fasting.
Methods:
Healthy preadolescents performed a cued visual Go/No-Go RT task after overnight fasting (Phase 1) and again (Phase 2) after eating breakfast (n=30) or continuing to fast (n=30). ERS and ERD determinations (8-10, 10-12Hz; frontal, central, parietal, occipital sites) and measures of sleep (overnight actigraphy) and blood glucose (finger sticks) were obtained.
Results:
Feeding increased blood glucose, but the groups were similar in sleep amount and response accuracy. Between-phase comparisons showed slower RT and increased alpha synchronization in fasting subjects, but little change in those who ate breakfast. Phase 2 group differences emphasized greater frontal early ERS and late frontal-central ERD in Fed subjects.
Conclusions:
In preadolescents a brief extension of overnight fasting resulted in significant changes in brain activity and behavior that were effectively countered by eating breakfast. Delaying breakfast until mid-morning appeared to have introduced fasting effects that attenuated responses in Fed subjects.
Significance:
These findings show the sensitivity of brain function and behavior to subtle variations in nutritional status and argue for greater consideration of nutritional variables in neurobehavioral studies.
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