Impact of Maternal Nutritional Status on Early Neurodevelopment in Infant
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2026 | Viewed by 200
Special Issue Editors
Interests: nutrition; metabolism; metabolic diseases; non-communicable diseases; neurodevelopment; Alzheimer’s disease; cognitive impairment; dementia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: fetal programming; maternal nutrition; placental alterations; metabolic diseases; neurodevelopment
Interests: exercise and diet-derived mechanisms; sex- and lineage-specific programming; intergenerational cardiometabolic health; nutrition; metabolism; metabolic diseases; non-communicable diseases; neurodevelopment; Alzheimer’s disease; cognitive impairment; dementia
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue invites high-quality research examining the pivotal role of maternal nutrition—from preconception through pregnancy and lactation—in shaping early neurodevelopmental outcomes. Growing evidence underscores how maternal dietary patterns, micronutrient adequacy, metabolic health, and nutritional interventions influence fetal brain development and early cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional trajectories. This Special Issue aims to integrate multidisciplinary perspectives to advance scientific understanding and inform clinical and public-health practice.
We welcome contributions addressing maternal macro- and micronutrient status; the effects of malnutrition, obesity, and gestational metabolic disorders; and the influence of dietary behaviors and food insecurity on early neurodevelopment. Submissions exploring underlying biological mechanisms—including epigenetic regulation, placental function, inflammatory pathways, and microbiome-related processes—are strongly encouraged. Research conducted across diverse global contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income settings, is especially valued.
The Special Issue welcomes a broad range of article types, including original research (clinical, epidemiological, mechanistic, or translational), systematic reviews and meta-analyses, narrative or scoping reviews, brief reports, methodological papers, and perspectives addressing conceptual, clinical, or policy implications.
Dr. Mònica Bulló
Dr. Francisco Algaba-Chueca
Dr. Elisa Félix-Soriano
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-blind 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
- maternal nutrition
- neurodevelopment
- pregnancy
- nutrients
- metabolic health
- infant development
- early life nutrition
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