Impact of Maternal Diet and Nutrition on Infant Neurodevelopment
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 180
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Maternal diet and nutritional status before and during pregnancy, as well as early postnatal life, critically shape infant neurodevelopment through a complex interplay of molecular, cellular, and metabolic mechanisms. Nutritional signals act not only as substrates for growth but also as regulators of gene expression, epigenetic programming, neuroinflammatory pathways, redox balance, hormonal signaling, and synaptic development.
Emerging evidence indicates that alterations in maternal nutrition, including excess energy intake, poor diet quality, micronutrient imbalance, and metabolic dysfunction, can disrupt key molecular pathways governing brain development, potentially increasing vulnerability to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain incompletely understood.
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current advances in the molecular sciences that elucidate how maternal diet and nutrition influence infant brain development and long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories.
We are pleased to invite researchers to contribute to this Special Issue focusing on the molecular mechanisms linking maternal diet and nutrition to infant neurodevelopment. Early brain development is highly sensitive to nutritional cues, which modulate fundamental biological processes, such as transcriptional regulation, epigenetic modifications, mitochondrial function, neurotransmitter systems, and neuroimmune signaling.
Maternal nutritional imbalances, whether due to excess, deficiency, or metabolic dysregulation, can alter placental function and fetal brain signaling environments, leading to persistent changes in neuronal differentiation, synaptogenesis, circuit maturation, and stress responsiveness. Importantly, these molecular alterations may precede and predict later cognitive, emotional, and behavioral outcomes.
Understanding these mechanisms is essential for advancing molecular neuroscience, identifying early biomarkers of neurodevelopmental risk, and designing targeted nutritional and metabolic interventions.
This Special Issue aims to highlight mechanistic insights into how maternal diet and nutrition regulate molecular pathways involved in infant neurodevelopment. Emphasis is placed on studies addressing cellular and molecular processes, signaling networks, and gene–environment interactions that link maternal nutritional status to brain development and function.
The topic fits squarely within the scope of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, as it integrates molecular biology, neuroscience, metabolism, and developmental biology to address fundamental questions relevant to human health and disease. By bringing together experimental, translational, and clinical research, this Special Issue seeks to foster interdisciplinary perspectives grounded in molecular mechanisms.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to):
- Molecular effects of maternal diet on fetal and infant brain development.
- Epigenetic programming induced by maternal nutrition.
- Nutrient-sensitive signaling pathways (e.g., insulin, glucocorticoids, mTOR, AMPK) in neurodevelopment.
- Neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction as mediators of nutritional effects.
- Maternal metabolic disorders and molecular alterations in the offspring's brain.
- Neurotransmitter systems and synaptic plasticity influenced by maternal diet.
- Placental molecular signaling linking maternal nutrition and fetal brain development.
- Animal and cellular models of maternal diet–induced neurodevelopmental programming.
- Sex-specific molecular mechanisms in nutritional neurodevelopment.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Ana Sofia Vallés
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- nutrition
- neurodevelopment
- molecular mechanisms
- epigenetics
- neuroinflammation
- metabolic programming
- brain development
- developmental origins of health and disease
- pregnancy
- maternal diet
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