Learning, like any other talent, requires practice and effort to master. However, the myelin sheaths around our brains allow our nerve impulses to travel faster, which is necessary for performing the skill. Myelination is an essential process in the developing brains of newborns and toddlers that occurs continuously throughout the learning period. This covering teaches them to rely on their senses to understand their surroundings.
Neurons in the brain and spinal cord are encased in an insulating fatty sheath known as myelination. This process increases the rate and efficiency with which information is transmitted by increasing the conduction velocity of nerve axons.
This is especially important in the formative years when learning occurs at a dizzying pace.
Our central nervous systems (CNS) are almost entirely unmyelinated when we are born. Oligodendrocytes, which myelinate neurons, proliferate rapidly following birth. Several cognitive abilities, including working memory, develop concurrently with myelination, which occurs in a distinct spatiotemporal pattern.
Neurons in the same circuit may communicate at different rates during this process. This can significantly impact the speed and efficiency with which children learn, particularly in terms of their executive functions (EFs), which include processing speed, working memory, inhibition, planning, and attention.
Myelination promotes the formation of EFs, which involve multiple brain areas and rely heavily on connectivity.
Brain scans and neuropsychological outcomes were then monitored over time.
According to research, what we consume impacts myelination and cognitive outcomes in old age.
A clinical study assessing the effects of dietary supplements on 81 otherwise healthy full-term newborns was recently completed. We gave them a placebo or a mixture of alpha-lactalbumin and phospholipid-enriched whey protein concentrate with sphingomyelin, iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 12 months. Brain scans and neuropsychological outcomes were then monitored over time.
The study found that between the ages of three and six months, the nutrient blend increased myelination in the parietal and temporal lobes, which are involved in sensory processing, motor control, and language skills, as well as the cerebellum and occipital lobes, which are involved in visual processing and motor control.
These findings show that how you eat as a baby influences your brain’s myelination, which affects your brain’s ability to learn and think later in life.
