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Updated: Apr 10, 2026
Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies
Published on: September 22, 2014
The effect of breakfast versus no breakfast on brain activity in adolescents when performing cognitive tasks, as
Jonathan Fulford1, Joanna L Varley-Campbell2, Craig A Williams2
1a Exeter NIHR Clinical Research Facility, Medical School , University of Exeter , UK.
Objectives:
The study examined the feasibility of utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a group of adolescent boys and girls to assess modifications in cognitive function, dependent upon the nutritional state of the participants.
Methods:
Twenty children aged 12-14 years completed two cognitive trials, in a randomized counterbalanced order, one under fasting condition, one after consuming breakfast, during which continuous fMRI data were acquired.
Results:
Although no statistically significant (P > 0.05) improvement in task performance was determined, significantly higher activation was recorded in the frontal, premotor, and primary visual cortex areas in the breakfast trial relative to the fasting condition.
Discussion:
Such a finding may have important implications in the examination of the role of diet, and specifically breakfast, in determining children's performance within the school environment.
