This is an automatically translated article.
Children's nervous system develops very quickly, the weight of the brain in a newborn weighs about 400g, at 1 year old weighs 900-1000g, at 8 years old, the brain weighs 1200-1300g, when an adult is 1400g. The increased brain weight is a result of myelination. The most important process of developing and perfecting the nervous system is the myelination of neural organizations and changes in the cerebral cortex.
1. What is the function of myelin sheath?
Most motor nerve fibers are myelinated nerves. Myelin sheaths are special structures that protect, nourish, and ensure that nerve impulses are transmitted intact. When these sheaths are damaged, it leads to nerve damage, degeneration, rupture, and complete loss of nerve function. The use of these drugs is very good in polyneuropathy in particular and diseases with nerve damage in general (such as diabetes, cold facial paralysis).
Myelination is the process by which fat gradually wraps around nerves. Myelination is related to the maturation of the nervous system. Myelination begins at the 4th month of fetal life, continues after birth, and is complete by the age of 8 years.
The most intense myelinization is between birth and 2 years of age, and the weight of the brain increases rapidly at this stage. Nerve cells will not function if they are not fully myelinated. Delayed white chemical myelin will slow down children's mental and motor development such as walking delay, speech delay and reduced cognitive ability.
Phần lớn các sợi dây thần kinh vận động là các dây thần kinh có bao myelin bao quanh
2. Some nutrients are needed in perfecting the nervous system
Fats play an important role in myelinating nerve tissue. In the first years of life, a child who is breastfed has a well-developed nervous system because breast milk contains many lipids, the energy provided by lipids accounts for 50% of the total energy of milk. The lipid composition of breast milk includes many fatty acids, including saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids, and especially lipids in complex form when combined with phosphates to form phospholipids or sphingolipids such as sphingomyelin. Sphingomyelin is a complex lipid that makes up 40% of the total phospholipids in breast milk. Sphingomyelin is a basic component of the myelin sheath that covers nerves, plays a role in conducting nerve impulses, transmitting signals across the cell membrane into the cell.
In the synthesis of sphingomyelin, choline is required. Choline is a nutrient that has similar effects to a vitamin and is necessary for the proper function of all cells in the body. Choline is a precursor of acetylcholine - a mediator of nerve impulse transmission and involved in memory storage.
Choline participates in fat metabolism, when choline is lacking, lipids are stored a lot in the liver. Many studies show that it is necessary to add choline to the diet of women during pregnancy so that the mother has enough choline to supply her baby through her blood. At the same time, to help children enhance intelligence development, it is also necessary to add choline to children's meals through food.
Thành phần lipid của sữa mẹ gồm nhiều loại acid béo, trong đó có các acid béo no và các acid béo không no
Sphingomyelin, choline has an important role in the process of neuromyelination - an important factor for the development of the nervous system, children's intellectual development has been clearly proven. So now, many foods for pregnant mothers and young children have been fortified with sphingomyelin, choline - which are important nutrients for children's brain development.
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