Early Life Nutrition and Neurocognitive Development
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2026) | Viewed by 2278
Editors
Interests: pediatrics; early nutrition; congenital metabolic diseases; childhood obesity; infant nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue dedicated to the critical and multifaceted topic of “Early Life Nutrition and Neurocognitive Development”.
The first 1000 days of life—from gestation to the end of the second postnatal year—represent a window of vulnerability and plasticity in the development of the central nervous system. During this period, nutrition plays a key role in influencing neurobiological processes that govern neuronal proliferation, cell migration, myelination, synaptogenesis, and synaptic pruning. An adequate intake of both micronutrients and macronutrients—particularly long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), iron, iodine, zinc, choline, vitamin D, and B-complex vitamins—is essential to support proper neurocognitive development.
Nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy or early infancy have been associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and cognitive delay. Furthermore, early nutrition modulates epigenetic mechanisms and the gut–brain axis, exerting lasting effects on gene expression and neurobehavioral trajectories. A deeper understanding of early nutritional determinants could clarify the biological foundations of brain development and support the identification of early biomarkers and intervention targets for primary prevention of neurodevelopmental disorders in pediatric populations.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and review articles. We hope that this Special Issue serves as a valuable resource for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the role of early life nutrition and neurocognitive development.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Elvira Verduci
Dr. Davide Tonduti
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- nutrition
- early nutrition
- prenatal nutrition
- neurodevelopment
- neuroplasticity
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